Beijing residents spent 3,917 yuan (US$626) on education, culture and entertainment per person in 2017, representing 10.5 percent of consumer spending, according to the press conference of the Fifth Beijing People-Beneficial Cultural Consumption Season on Feb. 5.
Industrial experts observed that the robust consumption on cultural goods was an important reflection of the upgrading of Beijing's consumption level, and the increased spending became the driving force for the transformation and restructuring of Beijing's economic growth mode.
Yu Junsheng, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, said Beijing's cultural and innovative industry above the designated scale achieved a revenue of 1,619.63 billion yuan in 2017, up 10.8 percent year-on-year. Education, culture and entertainment were the top three sectors that consumers spent most in terms of service-related consumption.
In addition, Beijing is further driving consumption with citywide campaigns such as the Fifth Beijing People-Beneficial Cultural Consumption Season. It held more than 10,000 promotional activities, reaping 16.21 billion yuan in direct consumption, including 1.03 billion yuan that benefitted local people, according to the organizers.
More than 2.8 million people have used electronic coupons issued during the promotions season, which generated 267 million yuan in direct cultural consumption.
Cultural events held during the season attracted 10 million participants, helping to promote cultural spending.
Beijing has explored new cultural integration business modes and cultural spending patterns while improving the quality of cultural fairs and cultural performances.
Driven by the "culture plus" consumption strategy, the city fused culture with science & technology, tourism, sports and ecological agriculture, through hosting events such as the Zhongguancun Digital Culture Festival and the 2017 China Tour's Beijing leg organized by the Chinese Equestrian Association.
The municipal government also partnered with 10 culture-themed and innovation-themed parks, five special towns, 14 business facilities, and more than 40 school communities to create a host of one-stop cultural consumption complexes.
In regards to fostering new bright spots in cultural spending, the city also held cultural activities such as the Beijing Fashion Week to streamline the structure of cultural consumption.