75 Years of Cultural Development in China: A Journey of Growth and Transformation

Light and shadow flow, melodies rise and fall, and literary and artistic works carry the memories and emotions of the times. Over the past 75 years since the founding of New China, literary and artistic creation has taken root in the people and deeply rooted in life, constantly meeting the people’s growing spiritual and cultural needs, and the cultural life of the Chinese people has become richer and more high-quality.

In the early days of the People’s Republic of China, film production and screening facilities were extremely limited. In the early days of reform and opening up, my country produced only about 50 films a year. Today, China produces about 1,000 films of all kinds each year. Especially since the new era, China’s film production technology has developed by leaps and bounds. In the past decade, the proportion of domestic films in the national box office has jumped from about 55% to more than 83%. Today, the number of screens in urban theaters across the country has increased to 86,000, and at the same time, more than 40,000 projection teams have brought the freshest audio-visual feast to the vast rural audience.

Not only movies, but also other cultural fields have made significant progress. The comprehensive population coverage rate of radio and television programs has reached more than 99.7%, and China has become the world’s largest producer of books, TV series, animation and other fields.

Public cultural facilities are also becoming more and more popular. By the end of 2023, there were 3,309 public libraries and 3,508 cultural centers across the country. Since the new era, more than 33,500 new public cultural spaces have been built across the country, providing more platforms for the dissemination of art and culture.

Over the past 75 years, people’s spiritual and cultural life has become substantial, rich and of high quality, and culture and art have truly been integrated into their daily lives.