Artists from South Korea perform a dance at a previous Northeast Asia Cultural and Arts Week. Provided to China Daily

An artist from Jilin makes paper-cuttings.

A visitor examines traditional Chinese musical instruments displayed at the Jilin booth of the 2013 China International Cultural Industry Fair.

A girl tries traditional Chinese musical instruments at the Jilin booth of the 2013 China International Cultural Industry Fair.

A clown amuses visitors to the Jilin booth at the 2013 China International Cultural Industry Fair in Shenzhen.

The fourth Northeast Asia Cultural and Arts Week will be held on June 8 in Changchun, Jilin province.

First held in 2010, the annual event highlights cultural diversity.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the event aims to promote cultural exchanges and showcase local culture.

This year, it will focus on animation-themed activities, according to the organizing committee.

The sixth Jilin International Animation, Comics and Games Forum will be held in the week. It will consist of seven sub-forums that cover such topics as advertisement, design, film and television.

The ninth China (Changchun) International Animation Art Fair will offer 200 standard booths to display animation products from 22 well-known companies, including films, games, books and costumes.

Cultural performances will remain a highlight this year. There will be seven art shows.

A modern gala will be held on June 8 and 9 at Changchun's Dongfang Grand Theater, at which there will be performances of South Korea's Nanta show and street dancing.

Russia's "Clown Carnival" will take place on June 13 and 14 at the same place. Comedians from Russian circuses will perform pantomime, magic and acrobatics.

In addition, large painting and photography exhibitions as well as a literature forum will be held. There will be nearly 80 classic works on display by famous artists from Jilin province. The Chinese Writers Association will arrange a forum to discuss literary creations on the topic of the natural environment in the Changbai Mountains.

Jilin's cultural industry has grown at an annual rate of 20 percent for five consecutive years, according to officials.

At present, the government has funded the establishment of 60 industrial parks and 23 industrial facilities for cultural industries, including 14 parks involving an investment of 1 billion yuan ($163 million) each.

The local government has set up a special fund worth 60 million yuan for backbone cultural businesses and unveiled a series of policies to reform and improve the development of cultural industries. It is increasing the amount of loans available to qualified cultural companies and lowering barriers to entry to encourage privately owned business, officials said.

"We have already carved out a road for the development of a cultural industry with Jilin's own characteristics after years of reforms," said Zhuang Yan, a member of the standing Party committee.

"The industry has seen rapid sustainable growth as well as increasing overall strength and influence."

A group of distinctive theme parks for cultural travel and cultural commercial streets have sprung up.

The culture market is also well diversified, covering filmmaking, publication, entertainment and art performance, and cartoon games.

The paper-cutting business is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity with thousands of years of history. It has witnessed rapid development in recent years.

Li Baofeng, a 48-year-old paper-cutting artist, has spent more than 30 years developing her art.

It only takes her 20 seconds to finish paper cuts used for window decorations. One of her works, A Dream of the Red Mansion, has won several awards in various national and international competitions.

She has established her own art school and company, creating jobs for thousands of rural people.

"We have tutors to instruct villagers how to cut paper at their own place and then regularly collect their work," Li said.

Her company's products have been sold to more than 30 countries and regions, such as the United States, Russia and Canada.

Li's handicrafts, along with around 100 other cultural products and projects, were welcomed in this year's China International Cultural Industry Fair in Shenzhen.

A museum named after her will be set up late this year in Changchun's Shuangyang district to showcase more than 2,000 items. It will become one of the attractions for cultural tours.

Jilin also has China's first film theme park, the Changchun Movie Wonderland, in the west of the Jingyuetan Scenic Area. It has already become a big hit with local residents and visitors alike.

"The park applies the world's advanced technology and gives people a real close-up view of moviemaking and movie tricks as well as special cinematographic effects," said Bi Shulin, general manager of Changchun Film Studio.

Taking Hollywood's Disneyland as an inspiration, the Changchun Park will have its second phase of construction finished in August. When it is opened, tourists can take a trip through time to experience China's culture, history, future, as well as the drastic changes in the process of modern urban development.

"We will focus our attention on three movies this year, including a 3-D animated film that involves an investment of 50 million yuan," said Bi.

Jishi Media, the first listed cultural company in Jilin, will create a family multimedia terminal and social information platform to redefine TV.

"We will build ourselves into a conglomerate that integrates digital TV, broadcasting commercial business and cultural industry investment," said Tan Tieying, president of Jishi Media.

He said that the era of simple entertainment and information is over, and Jishi will strive to help the public make full use of TV instead of merely watching it.

Jilin will also speed up cultural industry development during China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) and upgrade the industry to contribute more than 6 percent of GDP by 2015.

yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/07/2013 page12)