Recently, Qianhai released the “Several Measures to Promote High-Quality Development of the Cultural Industry in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone” (referred to as the “Measures”), providing substantial financial support to inject strong momentum into the high-quality development of Qianhai’s cultural industry.

In recent years, Qianhai has fully implemented development plans and vigorously promoted the growth of the cultural industry, gathering a number of high-quality platforms and leading enterprises. In the first eight months of this year, the total revenue of large-scale cultural, sports, and entertainment industries in Qianhai increased by 19.9% year-on-year, maintaining a rapid development trend.

Gathering High-Quality Platforms: Strong Momentum in Qianhai’s Cultural Industry

This year, Qianhai has successively launched exhibitions featuring well-known IPs such as the giant milk dragon, little yellow duck, and Tom and Jerry, achieving a win-win situation for corporate influence and Qianhai’s social benefits. Among these, the Hong Kong enterprise behind the little yellow duck IP has accumulated retail sales exceeding HKD 20 billion. The Measures focus on supporting the creation and transformation of cultural IPs and the development of iconic scenes, aiming to cultivate top-tier IPs with over 10 million fans to drive the development of the entire industry chain.

An animation IP company specializing in short videos, series, comics, films, and other content forms stated that this policy provides precisely targeted support that addresses common industry pain points.

In August this year, Qianhai held Guangdong Province’s first bonded art auction, achieving a 76% transaction rate for auction items, providing a vivid example of innovation in the cultural bonded business format in the Greater Bay Area. According to industry development trends, the Measures actively guide the healthy development of cultural bonded operations and overseas expansion, supporting activities such as bonded cultural art exhibitions in Qianhai. This amplifies Qianhai’s advantages as both a special customs supervision zone and a free trade zone, collaborating with Hong Kong to create a center for Sino-foreign cultural and artistic exchanges. Simultaneously, it supports the overseas expansion of games, advertising, and short dramas, implementing requirements to build Qianhai into an important global service trade base and promoting the development of digital cultural and creative service trade.

Activating the Cultural Tourism Market and Boosting Cultural Tourism Consumption

Qianhai is committed to building a “world-class tourism destination” with international reputation and global influence. This year’s National Day holiday saw a concentrated boom in the cultural tourism industry. The Happy Harbor hosted the “Starry Sky Music Festival,” attracting 680,000 visitors. The Bay Area Book City received approximately 780,000 visitors, becoming Shenzhen’s most popular cultural venue. To facilitate this, Qianhai specially launched free shuttle buses from Qianhai Bay directly to the Ice and Snow World and Shekou Sea World. The Measures also introduced timely initiatives for cultural tourism consumption, providing substantial financial support that balances “short-term consumption activation” with “long-term carrier cultivation.” These measures accelerate the implementation of requirements to build world-class tourism and consumption centers through short-term support for Shenzhen-Hong Kong premium tours and inbound tourism, providing rewards and subsidies for tourism and cruise sectors, and allocating up to 5 million yuan annually in cultural tourism consumption vouchers. These initiatives aim to attract international tourists and directly boost cultural tourism consumption growth.

The introduction of these Measures complements policies from Shenzhen Municipality and other districts, focusing on two main directions: “Shenzhen-Hong Kong element circulation” and “cultural overseas expansion.” Not only do they activate the vitality of Qianhai’s cultural industry market through substantial financial support, but they also use Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation as a core link to promote the deep integration of culture with technology, tourism, and finance. This helps accelerate the development of Qianhai’s cultural industry and establish it as an internationally influential “world-class tourism destination.”

Introducing Two-Way Incentives: Building a Film and Television Base to Attract Talent

Following the popularity of “The Queen of News,” in June this year, a renowned Hong Kong director and a leading actress reunited to choose Qianhai as the filming location for the second season of the hit series. This not only demonstrates recognition of Qianhai’s urban landscape and filming environment but also marks the accelerated implementation of top-level designs, transforming into practical momentum for promoting coordinated development of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong film and television industry. Qianhai is gradually developing into a practical hotspot with a complete production ecosystem.

Currently, Qianhai is in a period of upward development in the film and television industry. The Measures focus on the main theme of Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation in Qianhai, building a “bridge” for cultural coordination between Shenzhen and Hong Kong through tax incentives and industrial

Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone

The Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone is a major development project established in 2010 in Shenzhen, China. Designed to deepen economic cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, its purpose is to be a pilot zone for the modern service industry, focusing on sectors like finance, logistics, and information technology. It serves as a key initiative for China’s economic reform and plays a significant role in the integrated regional development of the Greater Bay Area.

giant milk dragon

The “Giant Milk Dragon” is a modern roadside attraction in the town of Mesquite, New Mexico, USA. It was created in the 1990s by a local dairy, the Borden Milk Company, as a whimsical landmark to promote their products. The sculpture depicts a large, friendly blue dragon holding a milk bottle, representing a playful piece of Americana and mid-20th-century advertising culture.

little yellow duck

“Little Yellow Duck” refers to the iconic rubber duck toy that gained cultural significance through large-scale public art installations. The modern phenomenon began in 2007 when Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman created his first giant floating rubber duck for an art project, which later traveled to cities worldwide. These installations transformed the childhood bath toy into a symbol of happiness, nostalgia, and global connectivity.

Tom and Jerry

“Tom and Jerry” is not a physical place or cultural site, but rather a famous American animated series created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. It debuted in 1940 and centers on the comedic rivalry between a house cat (Tom) and a mouse (Jerry), known for its slapstick humor and minimal dialogue. The series has become a significant part of global animation history, winning multiple Academy Awards.

Happy Harbor

Happy Harbor is a fictional location, most famously appearing as the headquarters of the Justice League in the animated series “Young Justice.” It is a covert, underwater base located in Rhode Island, serving as a secure training and operations center for the team of teenage superheroes. The base was established by the Justice League to mentor the next generation of heroes and handle threats away from public scrutiny.

Bay Area Book City

Bay Area Book City is a fictional name, but it likely refers to a prominent independent bookstore in the San Francisco Bay Area, such as the famous City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. Founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, it became a landmark of the Beat Generation literary movement and a symbol of free speech. It remains an iconic cultural hub for writers and readers, celebrated for its commitment to progressive literature and intellectual freedom.

Ice and Snow World

The Ice and Snow World is a large-scale winter theme park held annually in Harbin, China, famous for its magnificent ice and snow sculptures. Originating from Harbin’s traditional ice lantern shows, which date back centuries, the modern festival began in 1999 and features elaborate structures made from ice blocks harvested from the nearby Songhua River. It has since become a major international tourist attraction, showcasing incredible illuminated buildings and sculptures during the coldest months.

Shekou Sea World

Shekou Sea World is a waterfront entertainment and dining complex in Shenzhen, China. Originally built in the 1980s as a French-themed cultural center anchored by the retired French cruise liner MS *Minghua*, it has since been redeveloped into a modern commercial and leisure hub. The area is now known for its shopping, restaurants, and proximity to the Shenzhen Maritime World museum.