China is making significant strides in boosting its cultural development and enhancing the cultural appeal of Chinese civilization, with deeper integration of culture and tourism, booming development of culture industries such as video games, talk shows and online dramas, as well as innovative public cultural services such as virtual exhibitions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, underscored the significance of enhancing cultural development on Monday, urging more efforts to build the country into a cultural powerhouse by 2035.

During a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Xi emphasized the importance of drawing from China's rich cultural heritage while leveraging information technology to meet the diverse cultural needs of the population, thereby laying a solid cultural foundation for national development and rejuvenation.

"We have placed cultural advancement in a prominent position in the governance of the country since the 18th CPC National Congress," Xi said, noting that major arrangements have been made, which collectively form the framework for socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

Zhao Wei, an associate professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, explains that a cultural powerhouse is defined by three main characteristics: high cultural literacy among its citizens, a well-developed cultural industry, and significant international cultural soft power.

Building China into a cultural powerhouse by 2035

In 2020, China released a document outlining the five-year socio-economic development plan (2021–2025) and long-term objectives through the year 2035, marking the first time a specific timeline for building a socialist cultural powerhouse has been clearly outlined.

The plan focuses on three main areas to strengthen China's cultural development and enhance its cultural influence. First, it emphasizes the promotion of social civility, which includes improving education, manners and online behaviors of members of the public.

Second, it aims to enhance public cultural services by promoting libraries, museums, cultural centers, TV stations and so on. It also involves integrating urban and rural cultural services, launching community-level cultural projects and advancing the digital transformation of public culture.

The third focus is on developing the cultural industry, which includes implementing a digital strategy, standardizing the development of cultural parks and promoting the integration of culture and tourism. For example, many ancient towns, like Wuzhen in Zhejiang Province, have been successfully transformed into popular tourist destinations.

Zhao said that since the reform and opening-up policy, China's economy has experienced rapid growth. But the country's cultural development and influence have not kept pace with its economic status. He added that the 2035 goal aims to rectify this and many improvements have been achieved in recent years.

China's cultural development

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 73,000 large-scale cultural enterprises nationwide generated a revenue of 12.95 trillion yuan (about $1.8 trillion) in 2023, reflecting an 8.2 percent increase from the previous year. Furthermore, per capita expenditure on education, culture and entertainment for Chinese residents reached 2,904 yuan, up 17.6 percent year on year and accounting for 10.8 percent of total per capita consumption expenditure.

Digital technology has notably impacted the cultural industry, with new business models contributing 49.8 percent to revenue growth in this sector. These new models encompass internet literature, online dramas, animation and gaming, video streaming, online performances and digital publishing.

Moreover, emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, have significantly enhanced the production efficiency of traditional cultural industries, shaping future cultural development trends.

For instance, museums have introduced immersive virtual exhibitions and cultural heritage resources are increasingly being digitized. The Sanxingdui Museum in Sichuan Province recently launched the country's first immersive VR experience of an archaeological site, while the game "Black Myth: Wukong" led to the creation of China's first virtual library of ancient architecture, prompting many organizations to pursue digitization.

Additionally, 2023 witnessed a deeper integration of culture and tourism in China. More and more villages are exploring local cultural features to improve their tourism attraction. For instance, Huairou District in Beijing is located in a mountainous area and is famous for its chestnuts. Local businesses have come together to create a tourism model that combines coffee and chestnuts in the villages. The local government is also working to renovate these villages, making them cleaner and more attractive and creating a lively artistic atmosphere. They also hold coffee-making competitions to promote the district, which has greatly increased Huairou's popularity and drawn crowds of urban tourists.

"We should stimulate the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation," said Xi at Monday's group study session.

He advocated for a people-centered approach to creation that prioritizes social benefits while integrating social and economic outcomes, and called for more efforts to attain a new zenith of Chinese culture.