In Shenzhen, the sun is warm and the earth is vibrant.
From May 23rd to 27th, the 20th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair will be held at the Shenzhen World Convention and Exhibition Center. The Cultural Fair is about to go into the spotlight of the world again.
This year's Cultural Expo is an important node since its establishment, which will vigorously enhance the level of internationalization, marketization, specialization and digitalization. In terms of internationalization, the international exhibition area will be expanded from 3,000 square meters to 20,000 square meters, and in view of the goal of online and offline participation in 60 participating countries, it will comprehensively promote the docking and contact with embassies and consulates, business associations and enterprises of various countries. At present, leading international organizations and leading multi-channel B2B media companies such as Global Sources have confirmed their participation. In addition, it has strengthened cooperation with leading e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, Taobao Live, JD.com, Xiaohongshu and Douyin, and joined hands with Shenzhen E-commerce and Cross-border E-commerce Associations to help enterprises connect with overseas markets and promote more transnational cultural trade and investment opportunities.
In fact, when we look at the brief history of the fair and explore the relationship between the exhibition and the times, the world, the country and the city, we will further find that internationalization is not only its birthmark, but also an increasingly important mark.
▲The 19th Cultural Expo, Hall 13, Cultural Tourism Consumption Hall, Belt and Road International Pavilion.
Compared with the previous session, the area of the international exhibition area, the number of participating countries and regions, and the number of countries and regions visited and purchased have increased significantly. After 20 years of development, the fair has explored a road of international development of "leading exhibitions with business and promoting business with exhibitions".
Now, turn the hour back to 2004.
From November 18 to 22 of that year, the first Shenzhen International Cultural Industry Expo, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the General Administration of Press and Publication, and the Guangdong Provincial Government, undertaken by the Shenzhen Municipal Government, and co-organized by Shenzhen Radio and Television Group and Shenzhen Press Group, was successfully held in Shenzhen. This is the first comprehensive and international cultural industry expo held in mainland China, which has demonstrated its international characteristics at the beginning - more than 700 enterprises participated in the exhibition, and more than 2,800 overseas buyers from more than 40 countries and regions around the world participated.
It is worth mentioning that one month before the first Cultural Expo, a "triple jump" was achieved in terms of specifications: from the original Cultural Industry Department of the former Ministry of Culture, the former Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture, the former Guangdong Provincial Department of Radio and Television, the former Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Press and Publication and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, to the former Ministry of Culture, the Guangdong Provincial Government, and the Shenzhen Municipal Government. Such a beginning means that the fair is destined to be extraordinary as soon as it is born.
Just two years later, in 2006, the fair became a UFI certified exhibition. The association is the most representative association in the world expo industry and the only international organization in the world expo and exhibition industry. The exhibition recognized by the International Association of the Exhibition Industry is a sign of high quality exhibition, which means that the exhibition occupies a leading position in the exhibition and exhibition industry in the country, so UFI is recognized by the exhibition industry as a bridge for the exhibition to the world. The fair is the 46th Chinese member of UFI and the only comprehensive cultural industry expo and trade fair. The fair has been recognized by UFI after only two sessions, indicating that its scale, quality, international influence and brand building have been recognized by the international community.
At the 18th Cultural Expo, 30 countries and regions, 300 overseas cultural institutions and enterprises participated in the "Cloud" International Pavilion, and cultural institutions and enterprises from many countries in China participated in the exhibition to display cultural tourism, cultural education, cultural art, cultural creativity and other projects and products, and 10,931 overseas buyers from France, Germany, Pakistan and other countries and regions registered to visit the exhibition online, and the international characteristics of the Cultural Expo were actively presented.
The 19th Cultural Expo held in June 2023 attracted more than 300 overseas exhibitors from 50 countries and regions, and the number and quality of overseas exhibitors returned to the best level before the epidemic, promoting the operation of international characteristics to a new level, and the degree of internationalization has also reached a new height. As one of the driving points of cultural power, the Cultural Fair has moved from "the first national cultural exhibition" to "international head exhibition".
In terms of internationalization, the upcoming 20th Cultural Expo is more worth looking forward to.
Compared with the previous session, the number of online and offline exhibitors at the fair increased from 3,600 to about 6,000, an increase of 67%, the number of online and offline exhibitors increased from 50 to 60, an increase of 20%, the international exhibition area expanded from 3,000 square meters to 20,000 square meters, and the number of countries and regions visiting, exhibiting and purchasing will reach 108. The fair has promoted cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and has gradually explored the road of international development of "leading exhibitions with business and promoting business with exhibitions".
In particular, it is worth mentioning that the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany will bring special books to the International Cultural Trade Fair (Hall 10), which is the first time that the book fair has participated in the fair.
Founded in 1949 by the German Book Trade Association, the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest exhibition for the publishing industry, is held in Frankfurt from the first Wednesday to the second Monday of October every year for six days. The participation of the Frankfurt Book Fair is an affirmation of the Expo's continuous improvement of the international level of the exhibition, the establishment of a platform for global cultural industry exchange and cooperation, and the active promotion of foreign cultural exchanges and economic and trade cooperation. In addition, leading international institutions such as the Russian Artists Association, the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom, the Cuban Book Council, the Institute of Korean Traditional Culture, the Kumamoto Prefecture Craft Museum in Japan, the Spanish Trade Association, and Global Sources, a leading multi-channel B2B media company, will participate in the exhibition.
The Cultural Expo will be more and more "seen" by the world.
▲The audience visited and purchased at the 19th Cultural Expo.
▲Member of the overseas purchasing delegation of the 6th Cultural Expo.
From the "Silk Road Pavilion" to the "Belt and Road Pavilion", the "Belt and Road International Pavilion", and then to the super "circle of friends" all over the world, the fair has become an important channel for overseas exhibitors to find new products and partners in cultural trade.
The world looks at the fair, and the world looks at the world from the fair.
The international style of the Cultural Fair is to bring in and go out.
The development process of the Cultural Expo is the process of its continuous expansion of international attraction and influence.
For example, in 2015, the "Silk Road Pavilion" was set up for the first time at the Cultural Expo; In 2016, the "Silk Road Pavilion" was renamed the "Belt and Road Pavilion"; In 2017, the "Belt and Road Pavilion" was upgraded to the "Belt and Road International Pavilion".
The 2017 Cultural Expo brought together 117 overseas institutions from 5 continents and 40 countries and regions around the world to participate in the exhibition. Many old exhibitors from the "Belt and Road" countries said that the fair is becoming an important platform for cultural exchanges and convergence of the "Belt and Road" countries, and through the fair, they have met many customers from China and all over the world, and have gained a lot.
Last year, the 19th Cultural Expo took the opportunity of the 10th anniversary of the "Belt and Road" initiative to resume the establishment of the "Belt and Road" international exhibition area offline, and set up the European exhibition area, the Asian exhibition area, the Middle East exhibition area, the African exhibition area, the Latin American exhibition area and the cultural import trade exhibition area. It focuses on foreign relevant government departments, representative institutions recommended by government departments or related cultural institutions, as well as cultural tourism, performing arts and entertainment, arts and crafts, creative design, digital culture and other foreign cultural institutions, commercial organizations and related institutions that help to promote the import and export trade of the Expo.
The super "circle of friends" all over the world has injected full vitality into the fair.
Over the years, the fair has carried out cultural promotion activities in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Egypt, Israel, Indonesia and many other countries, with cooperative agencies in 65 countries and regions around the world.
Over the past 20 years, the fair has risen to the top, the brand's overseas influence has gradually opened, and international exhibitors have rushed to seize the beach. Many overseas exhibitors said that they regard the fair as a display and trading platform that must be rushed, and hope to find business opportunities at the fair. A number of overseas buyers interviewed by the media have said that the fair is one of the important channels for them to find new products and partners for cultural trade.
During last year's fair, Madi, a representative of exhibitors from Iran, brought Iranian saffron and handicrafts. Speaking fluent Chinese, he said: "I have met a lot of customers in China and around the world through the fair, and I want to introduce more of our handmade products with Iranian characteristics to Chinese consumers." ”
▲Last year, exhibitors from Iran sorted out carpets at the Iranian booth at the 19th Cultural Expo.
▲The scene of the Huaqiang Fangte branch venue of the Cultural Expo
"Shenzhen Brand" and "Shenzhen Design" have become a new force in the international cultural market through the platform of the Expo. The "going out" of cultural products and services is changing and enhancing the cultural image of contemporary China bit by bit, which is exchanged for orders, and it is the world's admiration and respect for China's cultural creativity.
It is a major mission of the Expo to make the ancient Chinese culture "live" and go out. As the only national, international and comprehensive cultural industry expo and trading platform in mainland China, and as a review platform and vane for the development of cultural industries in mainland China, the Cultural Expo has vigorously promoted Chinese culture to go out from the moment it was born, and strived to enhance the soft power and influence of Chinese culture, and become a "propulsion amplifier" of Chinese cultural soft power and Chinese cultural influence.
Before the Cultural Fair, the cultural products of the mainland were more presented in various exhibitions and in front of the audience as ornamental artworks, and it was the Cultural Fair that allowed cultural products to enter the trading field from behind the glass counters of the exhibition. In addition to "bringing in", the Cultural Fair has become an important participant and witness of China's cultural products "going global", and a large number of products and services with national characteristics such as culture and art, movies, animation, and online games have entered the international market.
Such a kind of "going out" also has a progressive process. The fledgling cultural fair mainly carries out the output of "utensils culture" based on general cultural products, such as the oil painting products of Dafen Village, which makes the "Dafen phenomenon" an eye-catching cultural topic. Since the second session, the fair has consciously attached importance to the "content culture" going out. For example, at the 2nd Cultural Expo, the cartoon character "Wukong" in "Havoc in Heaven", that is, with the help of the "somersault cloud" of the Cultural Expo, "transformed" from paper into various derivative products, landed in Europe, America, Japan and other international markets, and became a dazzling new star in the animation industry.
For another example, Huaqiang Culture and Technology Group's original cartoons are currently exported to more than 100 countries and regions overseas, its theme parks are exported to South Africa, Ukraine and other countries and regions, and more than 70 sets of 4D stereo cinema systems have been exported to more than 40 countries such as the United States and Canada. GDC's cartoons have also been exported to France, Italy, Australia and other countries, earning a considerable amount of foreign exchange from exports.
At the 18th Cultural Fair, Fujian Dehua's "Fuguihong" porcelain signed a large order of 60 million US dollars, taking a step towards the world; "Dream of Dunhuang" produced by Lanzhou Song and Dance Theater in Gansu Province has crossed the ocean to the world, allowing the excellent traditional Chinese culture to spread abroad.
Under the active promotion of the Cultural Expo, in recent years, the export volume of Shenzhen's core cultural products accounts for about 1/6 of the country every year, and has become a golden port for cultural trade in the mainland and a bridgehead to promote Chinese culture to go global. Huaqiang Fantawild has realized the export of mainland independent brand cultural theme parks to foreign countries, and animation products such as "Bear Infested" have been exported to more than 100 countries and regions; Rococo Design opens a branch in London, and TTF opens its headquarters for a high-end jewelry brand in Paris; Artron and China Commerce have won more than 100 gold medals in the world's highest printing industry, "Benny"; Directed by Guo Jiyong, director of Threesomes Pictures, and starring Ling Yun, the intangible cultural heritage inheritor of Emei martial arts, the large-scale cultural integration and output art program "Dance Now at Home and Abroad" series "Ice and Fire Island" went to Paris and Iceland to shoot and create, bringing Chinese intangible cultural heritage martial arts to overseas display, which was greatly welcomed by audiences at home and abroad, and was reported by more than 100 media such as Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily. "Shenzhen brand" and "Shenzhen design" are becoming a new force in the international cultural market.
Further, cultural "going out" not only has the significance of trade, economic indicators and other aspects, over the years, the cultural products and services that go abroad are changing and enhancing the cultural image of contemporary China bit by bit. Cultural products are also a special commodity, which contains huge irreplaceable cultural added value. The "going out" of Chinese cultural products is not only exchanged for orders, but also the world's admiration and respect for the cultural creativity of an ancient country.
Just like music is to Vienna and movies are to Hollywood, the "going out" cultural fair is showing its increasingly strong international influence and becoming a distinctive symbol of Shenzhen. The curtain of the 20th Cultural Expo will be opened, and through this cultural channel, the world will see a humanistic China that is both heavy and smart, more vibrant and charming, and a youthful Shenzhen with unlimited creativity and vitality to revitalize the ancient culture.
Source | Crystal APP
Reporter: Li Yue
Editor: Ye Hui