Prominent industrial parks for cultural and creative businesses have helped make Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province, a lightning rod for investment in this growing segment of the economy.
Covering more than 20 square kilometers, the Fujian and Taiwan Cultural Industry Park (Xiamen) was recently granted the title of National Cultural Industry Trail Zone by the Ministry of Culture.
According to the ministry, the designation will boost the development of the cultural and creative industry by selecting cultural parks as role models. The recipients of the title are all parks considered well-planned projects with great market potential.
Established in 2011, the park features five specific zones. Zone A focuses on digital technology and new media, and Zone B has a theme of creative design.
While Zone C is set to be developed into a TV and film center, Zone D prioritizes antique handcrafts and Zone E is oriented toward a combination of culture and tourism.
To draw investments, the park has established a specific system to provide better services for enterprises. Under the system, each official will be responsible for one or two programs, and the progress will also be monitored on a regular basis.
The park has attracted more than 1,000 companies, which generated 7.2 billion yuan ($1.15 billion) in revenue last year.
According to Xu Xiangming, deputy director of the Xiamen Bureau of Culture, Broadcasting, Television, Press and Publication, there will be new projects that add to the park's diversity, including re-creations of famous old towns of Fujian province and a music studio by top-notch music producer Hou Dejian.
Another park that has won national recognition is Xiamen Genshen Zhiye Cultural and Creative Industry Park.
Also known as Niuzhuang, or Cattle Park, it was recently listed by the Ministry of Culture as a National Cultural Industry Demonstration Base. The park is operated by the Xiamen Genshen Zhiye Culture and Creative Group, a leading company in the city's cultural and creative industry.
The main architecture of the park was painted with black and white images reminiscent of cows. The park is also characterized by various forms of decorations with bull and bison motifs, such as sculptures, photographs and calligraphy.
In ancient times, there was a place called Niuzhuang, which served as a logistics center. Today, leaders of the Cattle Park envision it as a center for culture and creativity, said Huang Jinqing, president of the group.
To some, a cow might seem to be a strange theme for a cultural and creative industry park. The image of a cow is often associated with being hardworking and stoic in Chinese culture, but niu, the character for cow, is also slang for "cool" or "awesome".
Such a rare and positive combination of connotations contributes to the appeal of the park, Huang said.
Built through the renovation of six old factory buildings, the park, with a total investment of more than 60 million yuan, was established in 2010 and covers less than 1 square kilometer.
Visitors to the park can take part in a variety of interactive activities, ranging from cartoon games to artwork design.
The park also boasts high-quality cultural and creative products, of which, 45 percent are from Taiwan and 30 percent are from other countries.
To promote the Cattle Park brand, the Xiamen Genshen Zhiye Culture and Creative Group has held a series of cultural events.
In 2010, the company organized the CowParade, a public art event that has been staged in over 75 cities worldwide, starting with Chicago in 1999.
It was the first time that the Chinese mainland hosted the event, attracting about 10,000 artists from the globe who created more than 5,000 art pieces featuring the cattle image.
With last year's general revenue exceeding 300,000 million yuan, the park has attracted more than 100 companies. About 10 Taiwan enterprises have set up offices in the park.