A glimpse of Shenzhen's cultural creativity from its Reading Month event
PR93258
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
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