Over 10,000 overseas buyers register for ICIF

The 18th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) attracted 2,532 government delegations, cultural institutions and enterprises to its main venue at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center in Bao’an District.

Other 870 institutions and enterprises participated online as exhibitors, and 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan all participated offline in the cultural industry expo as exhibitors, according to the organizers.

A total of 10,931 overseas buyers from 108 countries and regions including France, Germany and Pakistan have registered to visit or purchase at the fair online. Over 300 overseas cultural institutions and enterprises participated as exhibitors in the online exhibition that opened simultaneously with the onsite event, according to the organizers. Visitors to the fair are required to make reservations at “文博会+” before arriving at the main venue. They can also take a virtual tour via www.cnicif.com or the WeChat miniprogram “文博会+.”

The fair, which opened yesterday, covers six halls spanning 120,000 square meters. It features exhibitions on the achievements of the high-quality development of the cultural industry, the digital strategy and innovation-driven development, inheritance and development of Chinese culture, tourism and cultural integration and cultural consumption, and cultural cooperation and exchanges.

“Shandong had participated in the ICIF for years. Through digital technologies, we are displaying Shandong’s culture and industry. We hope Shandong enterprises to sign more deals at the fair,” Liu Cuijuan, an exhibitor from Shandong delegation, said at an interview yesterday.

Visitors look at exhibits at the main venue of China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center in Bao’an District, Shenzhen, yesterday. Sun Yuchen

According to the organizers, the number of leading cultural enterprises in this year’s ICIF accounts for 70% of the total participants. The cultural products and items that debuted at the fair account for more than 40% of the total on display.

“The Chinese zither and other musical instruments are the major products of Lankao County in Henan Province. More than 80,000 people in the county are engaged in the industry, whose annual production has reached 3 billion yuan (US$430.13 million), and we hope to display our national musical instruments industry,” Yan Wei, vice head of the county, said at an interview.

The fair is hosted by seven Central Government agencies, as well as the Guangdong and Shenzhen governments. It is the first time for the State Intellectual Property Office to co-host the event. An exhibition organized by the office called “Copyrights Make Cultural Life More Beautiful” will debut to the public for the first time.

The ICIF, dubbed as China’s first cultural industries fair, has played an important role in Shenzhen’s cultural development.

The added value of the city’s cultural industries has exceeded 250 billion yuan, accounting for 8% of the city’s GDP.

This year, the State Council commended Shenzhen as one of the 10 cities with significant cultural and tourism industry development. In 2020, the added value of Shenzhen’s cultural industry reached 621 billion yuan, accounting for 5.59% of Guangdong’s GDP.