Shinan district has been integrating its cultural and tourist advantages to help the city of Qingdao develop into an international fashion city.

The district brought in high-quality resources to boost its local night economy. By virtue of Qingdao Tourism Group, CAS Chengfa Culture and Tourism Co and the 1907 Light and Shadow Club, three areas were newly opened in the district on June 29 to enrich citizens' nightlife, the Romantic Lover Dam in the Olympic Sailing Center area, the Lounge Bar in the Taipingjiao area, and the 1907 music bar on Zhongshan Road.

The Lounge Bar, the first music bar in Taipingjiao area, is located on a seaside gazebo, where the guests can not only see the winding straits and moving vessels but also hear the sound of waves. Bands and singers from home and abroad are invited regularly to give Jazz, chillout and popular music performances.

The 1907 music bar, situated at the former site of a 117-year-old German sailing club, is expected to be a landmark of the city's old quarter, Zhongshan Road, a popular attraction for overseas tourists. Its design and decorations were inspired by the movie "The Grand Budapest Hotel", giving visitors a special experience.

A band performs in the newly opened Lounge Bar, the first music bar in Taipingjiao area, July 29. [Photo/qingdaonews.com]

In addition to these new bars, Shinan boasts nearly 20 large shopping malls, over 2,000 restaurants and about 100 music bars, making the district a place with the most fashionable and most active night economy.

Also, the district has introduced preferential policies to promote the development of the culture and tourism industries a few months ago, including giving support to culture and tourism projects, events such as festivals, forums, art performances and exhibitions, and projects of emerging industries.

It also sought cooperation with enterprises. The district signed a deal with Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co to co-build a short video operation center, which focuses on production of original content, brand promotion, talent training and incubation, and big data analysis and application.

Shinan attaches great importance to the protection and utilization of cultural relics. By the end of May in 2019, the district has finished the protection and utilization of eight historical sites, including modern architecture at Badaguan, and the former site of Donglai Bank. It had also investigated possible hidden dangers at 20 museums and historic buildings.

By far, fifteen historic buildings in Taipingjiao area, a European-style residential quarter, have been open to the public, displaying cultures of different foreign countries.

Meanwhile, Shinan has drawn up a plan for the inheritance and development of excellent traditional Chinese culture, bringing intangible cultural heritages to scenic spots, schools, communities and commercial buildings.

For example, it held a celebration of renowned Chinese writer Lao She's 120th birthday at the Rickshaw Boy Museum. The museum received 88,000 Chinese and overseas tourists in the first half of 2019, up by 84 percent year-on-year.

The district has held over 50 public cultural activities involving art performances, lectures, exhibitions and training activities at local commercial buildings, plazas, cultural venues and communities this year, reaching nearly 10,000 residents.

Moreover, it is keen on building a literary Qingdao by upgrading the Qingdao Shinan Cloud Library, which allows residents to borrow books online. In the first half of 2019, the cloud library had received 1,500 orders for borrowing new books, and delivered over 4,500 books to readers.

The cloud library also worked with a cafe-based library, an innovative project that tries to blend reading into reader's lives, to co-organize activities such as music appreciation, reading salons, and popularization of coffee culture. Residents who apply for and get the book borrowing card can borrow books from the cafe-based library.