Poly Culture sets sights on overseas markets

They are probably the most famous ox, tiger, monkey and pig heads in China, and befitting their status as national treasures the bronze sculptures are under round-the-clock surveillance in Beijing.

The curator of the four heads, which spent more than 150 years abroad after British and French soldiers looted them from Beijing's Yuanmingyuan Park, or the Old Summer Palace, in 1860, is Poly Culture Group Co (Poly Culture), which is at the forefront of China's culture industry.

The current home of the four heads is the Poly Art Museum on the ninth floor of New Poly Plaza in Beijing, China Poly Group Corporation's headquarters, a glass-clad skyscraper.

The four heads and many other pieces on display in the museum are a big attraction for enthusiastic art lovers, but Jiang Yingchun, general manager of Poly Culture, spreads his enthusiasm a lot more widely.

There is no reason Chinese companies in the culture industry with their huge domestic market, including Poly, cannot successfully expand overseas and develop into major international brands, he said.

"With our perfect combination of art and business skills I believe Poly Culture has every reason to become one of the biggest cultural enterprises in the nation," said Jiang.

China's cultural industry had a long way to go to catch up with that in the West, but has developed rapidly in recent years.

"China's culture industry is of great potential. As living standards have improved, spending on culture will also rise," said Jiang.

Last year, revenue from the nation's culture industry accounted for around 2 percent of the nation's GDP, "a very small percentage, which will definitely increase in the future", said Jiang.