On Dec 29, the closing ceremony of the Fourth Culture in Beijing event was held at the China Millennium Monument and the 2016 Beijing Cultural Consumption Brands Ranking was released. Around 300 people, including officials from the organization committee and representatives of relevant service bodies, executive bodies, enterprises, consumers, experts and media agencies were in attendance. Guo Guangsheng, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, was among them and delivered a speech.

Guo Guangsheng, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, speaks at the ceremony. [Photo/bjwzb.gov.cn]

Zhou Maofei, director-general of the State-owned Cultural Assets Supervision and Administration Office, reviewed the achievements of the Fourth Culture in Beijing program. Over three months, about 190 units were involved in 21,000 sessions of various activities. Almost 78 million people contributed to cultural spending. Direct consumption increased by 43.3 percent year on year, reaching 16.08 billion yuan ($2.31 billion), and seventeen thousand contracts were signed with a total value of 3.44 billion yuan. The fourth CIB event helped consumers save 1.74 billion yuan through discounts, deductions and gifts. The success of Culture in Beijing stimulated more people to spend money on cultural activities and achieved both economic and social benefits. It played a key role in Beijing’s economic transition.

Zhou Maofei, director-general of the SOCASAO, introduces the results of the fourth CIB. [Photo/bjwzb.gov.cn]

Two innovation initiatives were implemented during the fourth CIB: the 2016 Beijing Cultural Consumption Brands Ranking and Beijing e-coupons. Following public appeals, media recommendation, online votes, expert review and industry examination, the organization committee and Capital Culture Industry Association launched 50 Beijing cultural consumption brands, representing Beijing culture and possessing economic value. They were divided into the five categories of cultural and creative products, travel routes, cultural landmarks, cultural and sports events, and cultural performance. In addition, the Beijing municipal government handed out ten million yuan’s worth of free e-coupons to Beijing residents. Consumers were able to use the e-coupons for products and services in culture and arts, news publication and distribution, radio and television, and culture e-commerce provided by 59 cultural enterprises. Nearly 500,000 people used the coupons, leading to direct cultural spending of 67.5 million yuan and related expenditures of more than 600 million yuan.