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Press conference records: Beijing strives to create an international cultural festival with global influence as part of its effort to strengthen its role as center for international exchanges
Date: 2020-09-27
Source: Press Conference on Strengthening Beijing’s Role as the Center for International Exchanges
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北京努力打造具有世界影响力的国际文化节庆活动,助力国际交往中心建设发展.jpg

On the morning of September 27, the Foreign Affairs Office and the Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government held a press conference to release information on the city's spatial layout, integration of culture and tourism, and the construction of communities for international talents in relation to the city's effort to strengthen its role as the country's center for international exchanges and answered related questions from reporters. Representatives from municipal departments including the Foreign Affairs Office, the Planning and Natural Resources Commission, the Culture and Tourism Bureau, and the Beijing Talent Work as well as those from Chaoyang District attended the press conference.

Ma Wen, level II inspector of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, introduced efforts made by the city in recent years to promote cultural festivals, cultural tourism and international exchanges:

As a center for international exchanges, Beijing is China's window to the world. International exchanges in cultural tourism also play an important role in spreading the voice and values of China and demonstrating China's power. Since the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism has been working to promote the development of the city as the country's center for international exchanges in accordance with its positioning strategy and the highest standards for city development by stepping up the integration of culture and tourism, focusing on telling the stories of China and Beijing well, and riding the trends of the new era.

Next, I would like to introduce efforts made by Beijing in recent years to promote international cultural festivals, cultural tourism and international exchanges, especially in the following four aspects:

Beijing's features highlighted in major state events

We have been working to incorporate elements of the essence of traditional culture, contemporary cultural achievements and advanced cultural concepts into major state events, show the world the unique charm of Chinese culture and the latest highlights of urban development, and continuously enhance the international influence of the capital's culture.

During the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and other international events, we organized high-level theatrical performances and cultural exhibitions, fully displaying China's rich cultural heritage and its achievements during its rise as a major country in the world arena. During the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit and other events, we held intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and interactive activities to demonstrate the craftsman spirit embedded in Chinese culture. Beijing's spectacular 8-minute show at the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games conveyed, in a high-tech and artistic way, warm greetings from the host city of the Beijing 2022 Games. We held a grand gathering on the National Day to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, demonstrating to the world Beijing citizens' commitment to pursuing the Chinese Dream.

Well-known programs in international cultural exchanges

We have been focusing on brand building and expanding the international influence of international cultural exchange events that showcase the charm of Beijing as the ancient capital of China in the new era to the world, such as Happy Chinese New Year, Beijing Night, and Charming Beijing.

Since 2002, Beijing has held “Happy Chinese New Year” celebrations in more than 30 countries and regions for 18 consecutive years. “Happy Chinese New Year - Chinese Cultural Temple Fair” has been held in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, for 13 consecutive years, and Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, for 10 consecutive years. It has become a festival that local people look forward to in winter as well as an important project for public well-being of the local government. Localized and market-oriented operation models have boosted the enthusiasm of local institutions and companies to participate, contributing to sustainable development of the celebrations and the promotion of Chinese culture in local settings. We have promoted Chinese traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival on a global scale, and carried out activities such as global Chinese zodiac design competitions and Chinese zodiac pop-ups so that Chinese festivals will become lively and easy-to-accept cultural symbols. The interesting, profound way of storytelling makes it easier for foreigners to understand China, perceive China, and fall in love with China. We have also selected a series of high-quality events with Chinese characteristics such as “Beijing Night” and utilized modern technologies to demonstrate the charms of Beijing and life in the city in an all-round manner.

Pacesetter in international exhibitions and festivals

According to the general work plan of the Leading Group for Strengthening Beijing's Role as the Country's Center for International Exchanges, at the end of 2018, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism took the lead in establishing a special working group for the management of international cultural festivals and strengthened the top-level design.

We have hosted and sponsored a number of international exhibitions and celebrations, including Beijing Music Festival, Beijing International Tourism Festival, Beijing International Film Festival, Beijing Design Week, Beijing International Photography Week, Beijing International Art Biennale, IBTM China, Beijing International Youth Tourism Season and New Year's Eve Countdown in Beijing. We strive to make those events shining examples with Beijing characteristics for international exhibitions and events so as to display the new progress in Beijing's reform and opening-up and the new image of a beautiful China and foster world-class environment for people-to-people and cultural exchanges in Beijing.

Building the city's image to promote inbound tourism

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism considers the integration of culture and tourism as a driving force, holds cultural exchange events to increase the attractiveness of the city and adopts a precise marketing approach in source markets of inbound tourists.

With Beijing's rich and profound cultural heritage, we have distinguished the preferences in different source markets, working to shape an image of an open, innovative, friendly and inclusive city in international exchanges, and send warm greetings to the world. We have held overseas promotion activities, organized the “Great Wall Heroes” online and offline marketing activities, and recruited more than 1,600 people from 30 countries for a promotion conference. More than 100 media outlets at home and abroad have reported on our events, covering an online audience of more than 80 million. We have held the Beijing Inbound Tourism Global Strategic Partnership Summit, and travel agents from the ten major source markets and some countries along the Belt and Road have participated in the summit to discuss ways to boost the growth of Beijing's inbound tourism market and increase Beijing's attractiveness as a global tourist destination.

We have given full play to the role of the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), and successfully held the WTCF Helsinki Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2019 and the WTCF Latin America & the Caribbean Tourism Conference 2019. The first WTCF Fragrant Hills Awards was presented, and the first World Tourism Cities Investment & Financing Conference was held, and we worked with BBC to organize a forum for the first time. A total of 23 tourism investment projects were signed at the First World Tourism Cities Investment & Financing Conference and the total contract price reached 151 billion yuan. World Tourism Cities Development Report (2018), Report on World Tourism Economy Trends (2019) and Global Report on Smart Tourism in Cities were released so that the research outcomes can be shared by all.

Next, we will grasp the opportunity presented by the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and step up efforts to promote the integration of culture, tourism, technology, finance, and sports, promote Chinese culture on a global scale, attract international tourists, and build international cultural festivals with world influence to show a true and comprehensive picture of China.

Reporter: What new measures will the Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism adopt to continue to promote the development of Beijing as the country's center for international exchanges?

Ma Wen:

In the future, we will continue to improve the abilities of Beijing as the country's center for international exchanges, and continue to strengthen the branding of international cultural festivals. On this basis, we will focus on the following two aspects.

First, we will build a platform for international exchanges to enhance Beijing's carrying capacity for international exchange activities. To achieve this, we need to complete three main tasks. First, the Beijing Municipal Government and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have worked together to build the Athens Chinese Cultural Center. We need to accelerate the construction of the center, which will become a platform to show the achievements of Beijing's urban development to Greece and Europe as a whole. Second, we should put Beijing International Cultural Exchange Center into operation as quickly as possible. The center is located on B1 of Chang'an Grand Theater in Guanghua Chang'an Building, covering a total area of 4,445 square meters. It can host various activities such as performances, exhibitions, conferences, cultural exchange and tourism promotion activities and activities of the creative industries. As a comprehensive international cultural tourism base, the center will provide space for exhibitions, artistic creation, and other experiences. This project is currently under construction. Third, we should accelerate the construction of major cultural facilities in Beijing Municipal Administrative Center such as theaters, libraries and Beikun International Culture and Art Center so that the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center will become an important platform for our city to hold international exchange activities in the future.

Second, we should coordinate Chinese and foreign media resources and double down on our efforts to promote the international image of Beijing. We should further step up the integration of culture and tourism and make full use of major domestic and foreign social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and such channels as well-known overseas travel review platforms, e-commerce platforms and distributors to enhance the promotion of Beijing international cultural festivals and boost these festivals' global influence.