Officials address attendees at the 2024 Shanghai cultural and creative industry promotion conference. [Photo/Publicity Department of Shanghai Committee of the Communist Party of China]

The 2024 Shanghai Cultural and Creative Industry Promotion Conference was held at the Hengshan Garden Hotel in the city's Xuhui district on May 30.

The event served as a platform to delve into Shanghai's multifaceted efforts to bolster the cultural and creative industry, as well as to unveil strategic plans to fortify its growth trajectory.

During the conference, the spotlight shone on the winners of the second Shanghai Cultural and Creative Industry Competition, celebrating their innovative contributions. Additionally, new cultural and creative elements within Shanghai's banking sector were revealed, underscoring the city's commitment to fostering creativity across diverse industries.

Shanghai's cultural and creative sector has embraced reform and innovation over the last few years, leveraging digital technologies, nurturing novel business models, and enhancing the competitiveness of key industries. The industry's robust performance in 2023 showcased significant growth, reaching a scale of 2.34 trillion yuan ($323 billion) with a 7 percent growth rate.

The city's ambitious endeavor to establish itself as a global hub for film and television creation has also gained momentum, now boasting 17 professional filming bases and studios, along with over 7,700 film and television enterprises. In 2023, the city allocated nearly 330 million yuan in municipal investments into 983 cultural and creative projects, including cutting-edge digital platforms like the metaverse and AIGC. This move underscores the industry's commitment to digital innovation and novel business paradigms.

An illustrative testament to Shanghai's cultural vibrancy is its industrial consumption data, particularly the city's efforts to interweave culture and tourism with sports, commerce, and exhibitions. Official figures reveal that the city saw a surge in tourism, welcoming 16.7595 million visitors during the recent Spring Festival holiday, marking a remarkable 50-percent year-on-year increase. Last year's Shanghai Tourism Festival witnessed its total tourism consumption soar to 88.66 billion yuan, reflecting a 13.5-percent year-on-year rise.

Looking ahead, Shanghai is poised to accelerate the cultivation of new high-quality productive forces within the cultural and creative sector. Officials at the conference affirmed their commitment to nurturing a high-quality development ecosystem that fosters creativity, innovation, and collaboration within the cultural and creative sector.