A soaring and booming cultural market in recent years in Shanghai
has turned the city into the center of cultural production in
the country, experts said. Cultural officials, researchers and
experts reached this consensus at the first annual "Convention
on Cultural Production of China in the 21st Century".
Sponsored by the
Ministry of Culture of China, the convention was held earlier
this month during the ongoing second Shanghai International
Festival of Arts from November 1 to December 1. The festival
has been the most successful state-sponsored cultural event.
"To be an
international metropolis in the 21st century, Shanghai must
develop to be not only the center of economy, finance and
trade, but also the center of prosperous cultural production,"
said Bao Zonghao, a leading researcher on Chinese cultural
development.
Shanghai witnessed
rapid development in cultural production during the past five
years. The output value of cultural products in the period
totaled 3.4 billion yuan (US$410 million), and this number
is predicted to double in the next five years to 6. 9 billion
yuan (US$831 million), to lead all cities in the country.
Cultural activities
used to be nonprofit operations in past decades in China,
hampering the forming of a sound and benign circle between
cultural development and the market.
Since the opening
up and reform launched in the late 1970s, and later especially
driven by the policy set 1992 to establish the socialist market
economy in China, the development of cultural activities through
the means of commercialization has been widely called for.
For the first time,
the document issued by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 15th
CPC Central Committee, voiced support for the full development
of the commercialization of cultural production.
The full title
for the document is the Proposal of the Central Committee
of the Chinese Communist Party for Formulating the 10th Five-Year
Plan (2001-2005) for National Economic and Social Development,
made public on October 18.Shanghai has long been at the frontier
of the opening and reform. The city took the lead to reform
its operational system for cultural activities in early 1980s,
and made significant breakthroughs in middle 1990s.Shanghai
founded its first cultural share-holding company as early
as 1988, also the first of its kind in the country. The company,
named Oriental Pearl Co. Ltd, boasted an annual revenue of
over 100 million yuan (US$12 million). The company invested
900 million yuan (US$108 million) to complete the Oriental
Pearl TV Tower, which has become an architectural symbol in
the city.
The old system
featuring egalitarianism became no longer tolerable in cultural
production in Shanghai. The city readjusted the number and
scale of show troupes, reducing the number of staff members
from 4500 to just over 2000 and increasing efficiency via
the establishment of new systems, such as, a new contracting
system, competing for positions, objective management, and
the artistic majordomo-in-charge system.
Shanghai also succeeded
in establishing professional enterprises to handle recreational
and artistic shows and performances. It relaxed the restrictions
and gave permission for social capital to be used to run troupes.
Through these measures, the production, rehearsal, marketing
and staging of cultural performances have been put onto the
market, promoting the commercialization of cultural activities.
Shanghai pioneered
the collection of the city's financial resources to afford
key cultural construction and service. For example, radio
and TV stations in Shanghai, like Shanghai TV and Shanghai
Oriental TV, had to hand over 50 percent of their annual income
to the Shanghai Radio and TV Administration, which in turn
invest the money in public cultural services.
Governmental financial
aid for cultural development has discontinued in Shanghai.
In the early 1980s, 80 percent of cultural investment was
furnished by such funds.
At present, however,
only 9 percent of funds are provided by the government. Shanghai's
cultural services will realize financial self-sufficiency
through various channels of funding, with total cultural investment
to increase by a large margin.
The marketing system
was applied to the first two Shanghai International Festival
of Arts. Both festivals were successful in making ends meet
without costing a penny of government funds.
Cultural agencies
have played an increasingly important role in cultural commercialization.
The two arts festivals imported respected overseas plays and
performances through reciprocal business negotiations between
the competent agencies and local theaters.
Aida, the world
famous opera honored as the opening show of the second arts
festival, was brought to Shanghai by Shanghai Oriental TV
at a cost of 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) for each show.
"Thanks to
fully commercialized operation through the market, it was
no problem to reimburse the investment by selling tickets,
stage properties and costumes," Chen Shenglai, general
manager of the festival's show center, said.
(Xinhua 11/27/2000)
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