BEIJING, May 25 -- The National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday released its first ever set of figures related to the situation in the country's cultural industry.

    These figures, covering 2004, help offer a better understanding of the role that cultural undertakings play in the national economy.

    Nearly 10 million people were involved in this special trade, accounting for 1.3 per cent of the total workforce. The cultural industry's total added value was 344 billion yuan (US$42 billion) in 2004, accounting for 2.15 per cent of the nation's GDP.

    This data also sends an important message that an independent industry involving the production of cultural products has been taking shape over the past decades.

    The fact that the number of participants in the second national cultural industry fair held at the weekend jumped to more than 900,000 from 500,000 in 2004 speaks volumes about the rapid development of this newly-emerging industry.

    The cultural industry's progress is remarkable compared with the situation before the 1980s, when cultural undertakings were neither considered or operated as a business and people spent very little on entertainment and recreation.

    But the development is quite imbalanced in different regions. Businesses such as publishing, radio and television, the performing arts and some other cultural services are far better developed in the prosperous eastern regions than in poorer western areas.

    The investigation has also found that most cultural enterprises are small and much work is required to improve the quality of the products or services they provide.

    The universal appeal of books such as "Harry Potter" and "The Da Vinci Code" suggests that the globalization of the cultural industry is an inevitable trend.

    These popular books can sell millions of copies worldwide, but Chinese publishers are struggling to secure a market share that in any way reflects the size of our nation.

    To resolve this situation, those involved in the industry need to become much more open-minded and come up with more innovative ideas in order to create better products.

    Backed by a 5,000-year-old civilization, China's cultural industry undoubtedly has the potential to secure its due share of the global market.

    At the same time, we have a huge domestic market to tap, with rising incomes and more opportunities for young people to receive a higher education.

    Rural development over the next five years is also expected to greatly increase farmers' incomes.

    The average net income of farmers was 3,255 yuan (US$400) in 2005, while the average disposable income was more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,250) for urbanites.

    The cultural industry is primarily clustered in urban areas.

    The countryside could become a huge market for the cultural industry if the goal of increasing farmers' incomes can be realized in the near future.

(Source: China Daily)