Hebei: launching cultural projects to benefit the people(2)

A Different Kind of Development

"I have been exploring how to turn Hebei's advantage in cultural resources to its advantage in cultural industries," said Wang Jingwu. Wang is aware of the great potential of Hebei's cultural resources. In recent years the local government has been exploring how exactly this can be done, and it has come up with a number of solutions.

One success story is that of Yuxian County, close to the border with Shanxi Province. Rich in mineral resources, much of the local economy was reliant on mineral extraction, and the county government is keen to change this by using another local feature: papercuts. Yuxian's papercuts take this age-old Chinese craft to a whole new level, creating colorful images using multiple layers of paper. To encourage locals to exploit the commercial potential of this craft, the county founded the Yuxian Papercutting Art Festival, and now, several years later, one can stroll down a whole street dedicated to papercutting and its trade.

In Wang Jingwu's opinion, transforming traditional culture into a brand is essential for its commercialization, so that it can contribute to local livelihoods, and refined cultural products are exactly what the government advocates. To achieve this, Hebei has introduced supporting policies to create conditions for locals to develop original cultural products that display striking local flavors. A slew of cultural brands have been introduced, taking advantage of Hebei's cultural resources whether they are rooted in folk, revolutionary, or modern culture.

Dachang County has achieved great success with Pingju, an opera typical of northern China. Under the guidance of the county government, the local Pingju troupe has enhanced Pingju to make it a comprehensive stage art. The provincial government brought the Hebei Acrobatic Troupe and the Wuqiao Acrobatic Association together in order to develop Hebei Acrobatics, which enjoyed sizable profits from its performance at Jeju in South Korea.

Hebei has huge potential for the development of unique cultural products, such as the black pottery of Guantao, the snuffbottle interior paintings of Hengshui, Quyang stone carvings, Yuxian papercuts, Ningjin gongbi ("fine brushwork") Chinese paintings, and Haocheng's palace lanterns. The provincial government plans to establish 15 provincial cultural industry parks, five provincial cultural demonstration areas, 10 clusters of advantageous industries, and at least one large landmark cultural industry park for each prefecture-level city.

Hebei Culture Goes Global

In recent years, Hebei has publicized its local culture abroad with activities and cultural exchanges, and awareness of Hebei culture has spread at a remarkable rate. "For eight straight years, Hebei has held culture weeks in eight different countries, including Australia, Russia and Britain," Wang Jingwu said proudly.

Hebei, like other provinces, has largely depended on enterprises to introduce its culture abroad through cultural exchanges. Measures are being taken to smoothen the process of spreading traditional Chinese culture overseas, creating platforms for development and attracting private investment. "There are many cultural industry parks in our province. Through reform, their mechanisms for operation are becoming more and more flexible," Wang said.

Hebei is taking advantage of every channel available, whether they are between individuals, public or charitable organizations, or private enterprises. The provincial government has established relationships with sister cities around the world as well as overseas cultural centers and the aforementioned Hebei Culture Week. The province also plans to take full advantage of the Internet and other media channels to spread the influence of Hebei's culture.

In the meantime, attempts are being made to deliver cultural education, such as acrobatics and martial arts training, to enthusiasts abroad, so that Hebei's culture can be enjoyed worldwide.