Cultural GlobalInjecting Strong Momentum into the Construction of a Cultural Power: Practical Observations from the "No. 1 Exhibition of China's Cultural Industry"
From May 21st to 25th, the 22nd China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair was held, attracting 6,312 domestic and overseas institutions to participate. More than 120,000 cultural masterpieces were gathered together.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that building a strong socialist culture is crucial for the overall situation of Chinese - style modernization, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and the enhancement of international competitiveness.
As the only national - level, international, and comprehensive cultural industries fair in China, the Cultural Industries Fair is an important window to observe the dynamics of China's cultural industries and expand cultural opening - up to the outside world. It is known as "the No.1 exhibition of China's cultural industries".
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping's cultural ideology, solid steps have been taken in building a strong socialist culture. Cultural undertakings have become increasingly prosperous, and the cultural industries have been upgraded in quality. The cultural innovation and creative vitality of the whole nation has been fully unleashed. At this year's Cultural Industries Fair, there are a wide variety of new cultural products and continuous emergence of new business forms. The great power of thought is constantly being transformed into surging impetus for cultural construction.
The Contemporary Appearance of Cultural Confidence
At the Shantou booth, Huang Yanghong, a fourth - generation overseas Chinese from Indonesia, came specifically to take photos. Behind him, the "Yufeng Silver Letter Bureau" scene from the movie "Love Letter to Grandma", which was specially arranged for this exhibition, exuded a strong sense of nostalgia, attracting many audiences and movie fans to stop and watch.
"The plot in the movie is the past experience of my great - grandfather. The spirit of patriotism, love for the hometown, and hard work of the elders also encourages me to keep moving forward in life," Huang Yanghong said.
Next to the ancient writing desk at the movie scene, the "letter - writing master" wrote with a brush, leading the audience back to the old days. Many audiences picked up a pen and dipped it in ink here to experience the unique charm of writing a "Qiaopi" (overseas Chinese remittance letter). A Qiaopi is not only a microcosm of the hard - working and family - oriented nature of the Chaoshan people who never forget their roots, but also a sense of patriotism that transcends generations.
In the exhibition area of the Cultural Industries Fair, scenes that resonate with people can be seen everywhere, from Dunhuang murals to Sanxingdui cultural relics, from Jingdezhen ceramics to Guizhou Miao embroidery. With 8 exhibition halls, an exhibition area of 160,000 square meters, and 34 subdivided professional exhibition areas... These numbers demonstrate the vibrant vitality of China's cultural industries and carry the strong voice of the era from cultural confidence to cultural self - strength.
On May 21, 2026, at the 22nd Cultural Industries Fair held in Shenzhen, audiences experienced the VR project "Searching for Sanxingdui - The Archaeological Excavation Site of the Sacrifice Pit". Photo by Zhao Ruixi, Xinhua News Agency
As of 2025, the cumulative turnover of the Cultural Industries Fair has exceeded 3 trillion yuan, serving more than 54,000 enterprises, displaying more than 2.5 million kinds of products, and linking more than 84,000 investment and financing projects, showing the booming development of China's cultural industries with high - quality.
Drawing on the past to enrich the present, accumulating 5,000 years of cultural confidence. At the Xinjiang Museum booth, silk scarves and hairpins inspired by the "Five Stars Rising in the East to Benefit China" brocade armguard integrate the auspicious patterns of the Han Dynasty into urban fashion; the "Tiangong Market" jigsaw puzzle reproduces the colors of the Kizil Grottoes, bringing the millennium - old murals into ordinary studies.
Cultural and creative products of the Xinjiang Museum photographed in the Xinjiang Hall at the 22nd Cultural Industries Fair on May 22, 2026. Photo by Mao Siqian, Xinhua News Agency
Industrial agglomeration shows a new cultural atmosphere. In Hall 15 (Greater Bay Area Hall) and Hall 13 (Cultural Heritage and Innovation Hall) of the venue, more than 500 leading enterprises from various cities in Guangdong Province made a grand appearance. The Chaoshan Yingge dancers and the Zhiyuan robots danced on the same stage here. "Made in Guangdong" products such as purple sand tea sets, gold - painted folding fans from the Thirteen Hongs in the Qing Dynasty, and old tea utensils for Chaozhou Gongfu tea were all on display.
Creation and innovation give birth to new cultural business forms. In the "Cultural and Creative China" exhibition area, more than 200 high - quality cultural and creative products of folk intangible cultural heritages, brocades, and embroideries were exhibited. The handmade tiger - head bags named "Ya Xiaoqi" from Guangxi became a phenomenon - level hit, selling three - month's production capacity in three days. In the Longgang exhibition area, Shenzhen Shiba Paper Fashion Technology upgraded the traditional Cai Lun papermaking technique into an accordion - style foldable paper art structure, and launched household cultural and creative products such as paper stools and paper lamps, with products sold to more than 30 countries.
The "Cultural and Creative China" exhibition area at the 22nd Cultural Industries Fair photographed on May 22, 2026. Photo by Liang Xu, Xinhua News Agency
Since the opening, audiences from all over the country have come to visit the fair, experiencing various cultural scenes from different parts of the country in one stop. The warmth and vitality of culture have flowed through the entire venue. Through creative transformation and innovative development, the millennium - old cultural context has shown vibrant vitality in contemporary life. The popularity of the Cultural Industries Fair reflects a vivid picture of the integration of excellent traditional Chinese culture with contemporary Chinese society and the people's real life.
"Under the guidance of Xi Jinping's cultural ideology, cultural creative vitality has flourished. This is not only the report card of the fair, but also a new practice of the modern transformation of Chinese civilization," said Xie Zhikui, the deputy president of the Shenzhen Municipal Party School.
"Culture + Technology" Cultivates New Qualitative Productivity in Culture
"It's just like being on the spot!" Wu Xiaolan, an audience at the fair, put on VR glasses and instantly traveled to the archaeological excavation site of the Sanxingdui sacrifice pit, experiencing the archaeological environment in person. The "resurrected" giant bronze figure served as a guide, and the "digital person" of the archaeological team leader gave an expert explanation. A 10 - minute journey condensed a fantastic archaeological adventure.
Many audiences sighed that this year's Cultural Industries Fair was "full of a sense of technology" and that they "saw the future of cultural life". At the fair, the dual - wheel drive of "culture + technology" is giving birth to powerful new qualitative productivity in culture.
About a month ago, in the Beijing Yizhuang Humanoid Robot Half - Marathon, the "Lightning" robot won the championship with a net time of 50 minutes and 26 seconds. At the fair, the "Lightning" robot appeared in a "red outfit", attracting audiences to shake hands with it and take photos, experiencing its smooth movements and intelligent interaction ability.
In Hall 15 of the Cultural Industries Fair, Shenzhen Huaqiang Fangte has participated in the fair for 16 consecutive years. This enterprise has successively created many high - quality VR experience projects such as "Mystery in Antarctica" and "Adventure on Dinosaur Island". Its digital animation works represented by the "Boonie Bears" IP have been distributed to more than 130 countries around the world, and the series of animated movies have been screened in cinemas in more than 70 countries, repeatedly setting new export records.
On May 22, 2026, at the 22nd Cultural Industries Fair held in Shenzhen, people experienced AI glasses at the Qianwen AI Glasses booth. Photo by Mao Siqian, Xinhua News Agency
The in - depth application of digital technology has become a major highlight of this year's Cultural Industries Fair. The online platform of the Cultural Industries Fair, through the official website of the fair and the WeChat mini - program "Cultural Industries Fair +" system, classifies and displays cultural products and projects according to exhibition halls and areas, and upgrades the AI exhibition assistant "Wen Xiaobo" to create a "digital and intelligent Cultural Industries Fair".
The booming trading of "technology orders" is also a vivid footnote to the vibrant cultural market. At the fair, the developer of the mural cultural and creative products of Hebei Pilu Temple Museum took a fancy to a power bank with a high - definition display screen. The screen can dynamically display the murals in a loop. They immediately reached a cooperation intention with the manufacturer and planned to integrate intelligent display technology into cultural and creative products.
On May 21, 2026, at the 22nd Cultural Industries Fair held in Shenzhen, audiences visited the cultural and creative products of Hebei Shijiazhuang Pilu Temple Museum. Photo by Zhao Ruixi, Xinhua News Agency
Deeply promoting the integration of culture and technology, promoting the digital and intelligent transformation of the cultural industries, and cultivating and developing new cultural business forms are not only the characteristics of this year's Cultural Industries Fair, but also the proper meaning of building a strong socialist culture.
Data shows that in 2025, the operating income of above - scale cultural and related industries enterprises in Shenzhen reached 1,514.007 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 16.6%. Among them, the operating income of 16 small industries with obvious new cultural business form characteristics reached 724.198 billion yuan, an increase of 22.7%.
Behind the numbers is a profound industrial transformation: from "following" to "running side by side" and then to "leading", culture injects value orientation into scientific and technological innovation, and technology provides strong support for cultural development.
Promoting the Value Upgrade from "Going Global" to "Going Deep"
In November this year, the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen. This year's Cultural Industries Fair also set up an APEC economies exhibition area for the first time.
Data shows that this year's Cultural Industries Fair attracted 310 overseas exhibitors from 65 countries and regions around the world, including Germany, France, and Australia, and welcomed more than 35,000 overseas professional audiences from 110 countries and regions. The 22 - year - old Cultural Industries Fair has grown into a top - level platform for global cultural resource aggregation, project trading, creative release, and international exchange.
Vietnamese coffee culture and intangible cultural heritage skills, South Korean anime IPs and special foods, Thai trendy blind boxes... The inclusive and open nature of the Cultural Industries Fair allows cultural masterpieces from various countries to naturally blend into a vivid picture of cultural co - existence.
Hani, an Egyptian exhibitor, brought nearly a hundred hand - embroidered works to China for the first time and was deeply proud of his country's traditional culture. Abdul, an Indian exhibitor, has participated in the Cultural Industries Fair for 7 consecutive times. In his view, bringing the local dying dyeing technique is "to let more people understand its value".
On May 21, 2026, at the 22nd Cultural Industries Fair held in Shenzhen, an Egyptian exhibitor displayed hand - embroidered works. Photo by Yang Shengshen, Xinhua News Agency
From "going global" to "going deep", this year's Cultural Industries Fair presented the latest achievements of the "new three major cultural exports" such as online literature, online dramas, and online games.
The "new three major cultural exports" from Guangdong photographed at the 22nd Cultural Industries Fair on May 22, 2026. Photo by Liang Xu, Xinhua News Agency
"Taking micro - dramas as an example, with the help of artificial intelligence technology, it is more convenient to build overseas platforms," said Liang Jian, the chief marketing officer of Guangzhou Guanghe Dynamic Culture Communication Co., Ltd., a service provider for TikTok micro - drama production. "Guanghe Dynamic has produced more than a thousand overseas micro - dramas. From live - action micro - dramas, AI movies to AI comic dramas, there are great prospects for Chinese culture to go global with the empowerment of technology."
At the same time, "Made in China" is expanding from functional value to cultural value, pushing Chinese culture onto the world stage.
Small pendants made of fruit shells integrate the concept of "music therapy" into cultural and creative products, which are both novel and full of Eastern philosophical thinking for the overseas market. The Chinese operator of a British travel luggage brand integrated the elements of the four mythical beasts in Chinese culture into the luggage decoration, saying that "culture should permeate every part of life and be spread around the world through daily necessities, making traditional culture modern and practical".
Facing the intertwined situation of the new round of digital technology transformation, the in - depth adjustment of the global cultural pattern, and the continuous upgrading of domestic cultural consumption, how can we promote the high - quality development of the cultural industries?
This year's Cultural Industries Fair has given the answer - the fair set up a global cultural trade zone, invited 130,000 professional buyers, and launched 22 measures to promote transactions. From "display" to "transaction" and then to "industrial ecosystem", the Cultural Industries Fair has gone beyond the single attribute of an exhibition and transformed into an industrial comprehensive service platform that empowers the whole chain, connecting the whole chain of cultural creation, technological empowerment, and market access to the world.
"The Cultural Industries Fair is not only a key platform to showcase the charm of Chinese culture and promote international cultural exchange and cooperation, but also an important extension of the cultural exchange of the APEC meeting. Through Shenzhen, the world can see a new practice of Chinese culture having in - depth dialogues with global civilizations in an open and inclusive manner," said Guo Wanda, the executive vice - president of the China (Shenzhen) Comprehensive Development Research Institute.
