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SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 24, 2021 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/--

Two Chinese cities recognized by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network met and

melted in a recent interdisciplinary exchange. The event themed "When Design

City Meets City of Literature: Cross-Cultural Dialogue Between Shenzhen and

Nanjing", a flagship activity on the sidelines of the 22nd Shenzhen Reading

Month, demonstrates how Chinese cities have stayed committed to driving social

development through innovation.

Shenzhen Reading Month has been an annual event held in November since 2000,

making it one of Shenzhen's ten shining cultural brand names and shaping an

enabling climate for reading, according to the Organizing Committee of Shenzhen

Reading Month. In 2013, UNESCO named Shenzhen a global model for the promotion

of reading. As of 2020, Shenzhen had led the country in the annual number of

books purchased per capita for 30 consecutive years, according to media

reports.

Shenzhen, a young city of immigrants though, is cultivating its distinctive

resources of culture and literature, said Bi Feiyu, writer and professor at

Nanjing University.

While developing its distinct cultural identities, Shenzhen embarks on a

journey of discovery that excitingly invites fine traditions from across the

globe, given its lack of cultural legacies compared with historic cities. Among

Shenzhen Urban Culture Menu activities that the metropolis has rolled out since

2017, two-thirds have global influence. On top of learning about and from

overseas cultures, the city has also enriched itself by inaugurating the

National Book Release Center, an inspiration of Shenzhen Publishing Group.

Furthermore, the publisher has integrated promotion and marketing resources and

brought together prime publishing elements, seeing blockbuster books first

released in Shenzhen in a way that practically breaks the pattern dominated by

Beijing and Shanghai.

The National Book Release Center has forged strategic cooperation relationships

with the Publishers Association of China, 30 plus Chinese publishing agencies,

and over 20 brick-and-mortar bookstores in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, as

well as influential new media platforms, noted Qiu Gan, vice general manager of

Shenzhen Publishing Group, adding that the best new books will be selected for

release and promotion.

Empowered by cultural vitality extracted from a dynamic market, the design

city, China's first recognized by UNESCO, is moving toward a more creative hub

for innovation and startups. Its graphic and packaging design and decoration

sectors, inspired by the counterparts in Hong Kong at the beginning of the

reform and opening-up, have thrived along with the city's economic boom. And it

is market forces that constantly drive the transition.

In 2020, Shenzhen's GDP stood at RMB 2.76 trillion, with its per capita

disposable income surpassing RMB 64,000. Such a massive consumer market, along

with the demands created therefrom, has helped energize and upgrade the

cultural sector. On the sidelines of this year's Reading Month event is an

overcrowding Shenzhen Book Fair, which exemplifies the critical impact of urban

culture on innovation and creativity.

Speaking of feelings about the cross-cultural dialogue, Feng Changhong,

president of the Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, believed

that observations of and love for real life are a springboard for creativity

and inspiration, and literature is about people resorting to written language

as a way of expressing their real life and emotions, while design means

concretizing these feelings with stunning color combinations and sophisticated

techniques. That being said, a competent designer can be inspired to produce a

sketch just by an image of literature, a testimony to how literature and design

can be a great source of inspiration for each other, Feng added.

Shenzhen is fostering a literary and artistic atmosphere for the general public

with the beauty of design. That means the immersive cultural experience is no

longer a privilege for the elegant sitting in an opera house. Instead, the

society-wide cultural campaign has enabled ordinary people to feel a sense of

arts and literature from buildings of various styles, such as urban parks,

sculptures on street corners, and themed cafes. What impressed Bi most, in his

words, was that Shenzhen is growing more attractive. "The well-designed city as

a whole always puts people first, as evidenced by user-friendly designs seen

everywhere. This shows aesthetic features it has to offer and embodies a spirit

of humanity," said the Nanjing writer.

Design, in the view of Feng, reveals a city's fundamental culture and develops

its unique character over time. Only when its design is deeply intertwined with

economy, culture, and the urban landscape can the design city be deserved.

Source: The Organizing Committee of Shenzhen Reading Month