With a complete cultural infrastructure, Shenzhen stages colorful cultural and arts activities around the year. Shenzheners are known for their love for reading and their care about needy people.

Cultural and Art Undertakings

Shenzhen's cultural and art undertakings prosper day by day and there are 10 artist associations and 19 professional art troupes employing more than 3000 art performers, thus creating the famous cultural and art celebration brands, such as,"Shenzhen Grand Theater Art Festival","International Water-Ink Painting BIENNIAL","International BIENNIAL Piano Competition" and"Shenzhen Masterpiece Performance from China and other countries Festival", etc.

In 2006 the whole city cultural and art system won more than 349 prizes, including 26 international awards, 152 national awards, and the art performance troupes in the whole system has given 218 performances and 247 performances at different art performance places.

Museums

The museums in Shenzhen not only exhibit the development history of Shenzhen special economic zone but also present an introduction of the local conditions and customs so as to give a clear picture of the young but fast-growing city. In particular, there are some museums with peculiar characteristics, such as, Shenzhen Museum, Huanggang Meseum, Dapeng Ancient City Museum, Longgang Hakka Folk Museum, Memorial of Old Site of Dongjiang Guerrilla Headquarter, Museum of Queen of heaven, Xibaolou Museum of Celadon in Shenzhen and Zhongying Street Museum. Except for one government-owned museum, there are 16 museums of different operating modes, mainly the privately owned, collectively owned and state-private jointly owned museums.

City of Library

In 2003 Shenzhen initiated the activity for the construction of"City Of Library' and now it has taken its initial shape. By the end of 2006, the public libraries in the whole city reached 577 with a total Collection of 10.7947 million books (copies) and a total circulation of 12.456 person times. In accordance with the relevant plans, by 2010 the libraries at all levels in the whole city will provide 600-odd seats and the total collection of books of the public libraries will reach 18 million books (copies) (including E-Journal on Periodicals) and the resident population averages two books (copies) each, thus adding luster to the creation of the extensive pursuit for knowledge by the general public.

City of Piano

Shenzhen has acquired a series of achievements in international piano competitions. Li Yundi won the first award of Chopin International Piano Competition, thus creating a history by filling in the blank without the first prize winner for 13 consecutive years. Chen Sa and Zhang Hao and some other internationally first class piano talents have successively come to the spotlight at the international competitions. Take Shenzhen's art schools for example, Shenzhen's piano teaching level comes to the national forefront. The master pianist, Professor Dan Zhaoyi has cultivated the world-level piano promising talents and exerted positive impact on the overseas piano market. The piano art gains a higher popularity rate among the small-and-mid-sized students in Shenzhen/ Besides, the possession volume of piano takes a remarkable higher percentage nationwide with every 100 families have 8.2 pianos. A large batch of piano masters even prioritizes Shenzhen as their important base for pursuit of career development in Shenzhen.

Capital of Design

The development of Shenzhen Design Industry gives a boost to the development of Hong Kong's design industry, gradually forming some comparative advantages. Shenzhen boasts quite a lot of nationally influential or even internationally influential design elites, such as, graphic designers, Chen Shaohua, Han JIaying and Zhang Da, etc., who have long enjoyed a good reputation in the domestic design sectors. The Beijing Olympic Emblems for Candidature Competition were designed by Shenzhen people and many works and art designers who have obtained good reputation in the domestic and international design sectors mostly come fro Shenzhen.

Animated Cartoon base

Shenzhen is one of the Animated Cartoons Industry Bases and also the earliest city to process animation films for overseas customers. In the middle of 1980s, the first Hong Kong invested Animated Emerald Co., Ltd settled down in Shenzhen and in the prime of its development it attracted and retained nearly 70% of animation design talents, having provided a lot of Animated Cartoon movies for overseas and domestic customers.

Shenzhen animated cartoon industry has become one of the important production bases in the world Animated Cartoon and game industry at a lower cost and the international processing capacity, and is highly endowed with the abundant processing capability in cartoon, two or three-dimensional animated movies and games software.

Cultural and Art Facilities

There are 24 main cultural and art facilities at the municipal level, constructed or under construction, covering a total area of 0.4088 million square meters and the total construction area of approximately 0.7012 million square meters and the total investment of 4.795 billion RMB yuan or so. Cultural centers, libraries, theaters and cinemas are scattered throughout the city for the benefit of the general public. There are 577 public libraries, 19 museums and minerals and 114 film playing companies with a total ticket income up to more than 30 million RMB yuan and the total annual audiences up to nearly 1.5 million.   

Shenzhen Music Hall
Shenzhen Music Hall is located in the Center of Futian District, Shenzhen City, covering a total area of 0.26345 million Square meters and the construction area of approximately 0.414233 million square meters, designed by the Japanese architect Master ISOZAKI Arata who enjoys a high reputation in the world architecture industry. The architectural structure is elegant and unique with the external wall decorated with five colors"yellow, red, green, white and black", highly embodying the concept featuring the traditional Chinese five elements and fully merging the cultural charm of the east and the west. 

Shenzhen Museum
It is located in No. 6, Tongxin Road, Futian District and the ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on November 1, 1988, with a total construction area of 12800 square meters. The regular exhibitions include"Ancient Shenzhen","Modern Shenzhen","Exhibition of Shenzhen's Reform and Opening up History and Achievements" and"Exhibition of Marine Organisms Specimens". The collected cultural relics reach 24000-odd pieces and the treasured collection of 5000-odd pieces.

Shenzhen Grand Theater
It is located in No. 5018, Shennan East Road, Luohu District and was put into operation on May 6, 1989. The first Shenzhen Grand Theater Art Festival held in 1992 became the annual art grand even.
 
HE XIANGNINGNG ART MUSEUM
It is located in Shenzhen Overseas Chinese City (No. 9013) was open to the public on April 18, 1997. Its total construction area reached 5115.9square meters with the inscription by former president Jiang Zemin. The museum has collected and treasured 1000-odd art works of He Xiangningng.
 
Guanshanyue Art Museum
It is located in No. 6026, Hongli Road and was open to the public on June 25, 1997 with a total construction area of 6026 square meters and former state president Jiang Zeming inscribed the name of the museum which is focused on the collection, study and display of Guan Shanyue's art works and also plays an auxiliary role as the national modern Art museum, having sponsored"Shenzhen International Water-Ink Painting BIENNIAL", which has exerted considerable impact in the art industry.

Plaza Culture

In July 1986, Hongli Road Youth And Children's Activity Center where the Open-air stage was built with brick and cement and on which many new forms and styles of evening parties were organized: The general public does not pay to watch the performance but the performers paying 50 cents shall be allowed to perform on the stage. This form of Mass Activities, mainly including self-amusement and self-performance is generally called"Happiness to Us All". During the period of a decade or so, the stage of"Happiness to Us All" has held all kinds of cultural and art performances totaling more than 200000 times and the theme-related performances of 6200 times. 

Shenzhen has formed its three-tier cultural plaza networks, namely, the residential quarters, street and administrative districts and there are nearly 200 squares or plazas, small or big, so almost every day there will be cultural and art performance activities. 

Cultural Industry

Cultural industry in Shenzhen has become the"4th Polar industry" full of vigor and vitality. At present Shenzhen has formed a large batch of backbone cultural industry, such as, its new publication industry, advertising industry, cultural product manufacturing industry, Cultural and attainment industry, Sports industry, cultural and tourism industry and broadcasting and TV industry, including printing, media and cultural and tourism industry, taking a leading position nationwide.

Cultural market
Shenzhen has 480 song and dancing amusement places and 134 game and amusement places. And there are nearly 5000 cultural market business operating companies which employ more than 100,000 people with the total output of approximately 20 billion RMB yuan, so Shenzhen performance companies try hard to build their brand image.

Dafen Oil Paining Village
This village is under the jurisdiction of Buji Street Office of Longgang District, covering a total area of 4 square kilometers. In 1989 Mr. Huang Jiang , a Hong Kong painting collector and merchant took a dozen painting workers to settle down by renting the civil residential houses to engage in mass production and sales and distribution of the oil paintings, thus attracting many different artists, masters or painters. Now there are 305 calligraphy and painting, arts and crafts stores with more than 3000 people, including artists, painters, apprentices, are engaged in oil painting production, and there are 700 galleries, oil painting workshops and personal oil painting studios of all kinds. In 2006 the annual sales turnover broke the record and continued to break through the upper limit of 100 million RMB yuan.     

Printing Industry
Shenzhen is the most important printing industrial base and occupies a leading position in the same industry nationwide, particularly in terms of the overall technical design level, production scale and strength, printing equipment and technology enterprise management and production quality and many other indicators.

There are 1580-odd printing enterprise in the whole city employing nearly 120000 workers with the total registered capital of more than 0.7 million RMB yuan. Shenzhen Artron Color Printing Co Ltd has won the gold award"Benny Award"? well reputed as"Oscar" in the world printing industry.

Cultural activities

China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF)
It is abbreviated as China International Cultural Industry Fair and is also a part of UFI, mutually sponsored by Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Commerce, State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, General Administration of Press and Publication of the People's Republic of China, Guangdong Provincial People's Government and Shenzhen Municipal People's government and organized by Shenzhen Press Group, Shenzhen Media Group, Shenzhen Circulation Group and Shenzhen International Cultural Industry Fair Co., LTD as the only state-level cultural industry Exposition which shall be held in Shenzhen every middle of May, devoted to creating the top grade cultural product exhibition or fair and the export brand.

Shenzhen Reading Month
Reading Month is one of the most important cultural grand events in Shenzhen and at the same time it is also one of the longest reading and culture festival which lasts the longest in the world. Starting from 2000, Shenzhen Municipal Government designated every November as the"Reading Month" with the theme"Reading- Harmony-Progress". The activities takes all forms, such as, reading forum, famous expert lectures, TV Debate Competition, Children's on-site Drawing on the 100 meter painting scroll,  primary and middle school students impromptu composition competition, Reading drift, etc. Up to now seven reading month activities have been successfully held, forming the mature operational mode. 2006 7th"Shenzhen Reading Month" magnetized participants exceeding 7 million person times.

Cultural Forum for urban residents
Cultural Forum for urban residents is a public welfare cultural brand created in 2005 in Shenzhen City and it was mainly focused on the theme featuring"Appreciation and Taste", creating the new mode for the development of the popular culture. 

Shenzhen Young Migrant Workers' Cultural Festival 
Young Visiting Workers' Cultural Festival was first initiated in May 2005 to cater to the cultural demands of the migrant workers. The festival is to be held one session every year and once every month and up to now two sessions have been held. In 2006 the second session of Shenzhen Young Migrant Workers' Cultural Festival included migrant workers' business start-up forum together with ten activity projects for the whole city, mainly including exhibition of housekeeping service, solicit articles from the migrant workers, Hard-tipped Writing Instruments Calligraphy, camera shooting, personal talent performance, singer and collection of the original creative songs and words, etc.

Shenzhen Social Science and Culture Promotion Week  
Shenzhen Social Science and Culture Promotion Week is the first cultural activity with the social science as the main theme and it got started from 2003. Every year the theme is different and it exerts extensive impact on the whole society. According to an uncompleted statistics, at least more than 0.4 million residents have the access to the social science knowledge from the activity more or less, and"Social Science Knowledge Online Composition Competition" and"Q&A Contest of Social Science Knowledge", all of these arrangements are well accepted by the general public, or even subscriptions for the competition from other provinces come in showers.

Besides,"China (Shenzhen) international Piano Concerto Performance Competition","Shenzhen Sand Beach Concert","Golden Autumn in Pengcheng" festival","Shenzhen International Tourism and Culture Festival", The TV Competition for the Star of Youth", and several other cultural and art celebration activities held in Shenzhen, which produces extensive impact on and wins high favor from the local people.

Foreign cultural Exchange

With the rapid development of the international urban construction, Shenzhen takes lively and prospering development trend in intensifying the cultural exchange and cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong and Marceau, yet these few years witness a remarkable increase and improvement in terms of exchange quantity and quality over the previous years. The regular international cultural exchange activities in Shenzhen include"China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF)","Shenzhen Grand Theater Art Festival","Shenzhen International Folk Art Festival","Shenzhen international Water-Ink Painting Biennial" ,"Happy Valley International Magic Festival" and Asian Children Art Festival?, etc.

"Relevant Source Data: http://www.szwen.gov.cn/ "