Digitalization empowers China's cultural centers

Xu Yan, deputy director of the Shandong Provincial Cultural Center, shares at the annual conference that the center has been following a long-standing provincial-municipal-county linkage model, initially used for cultural benefit campaigns that brought performances to rural and poverty-relief areas.

The mechanism matured significantly in 2023, when the province mobilized rapidly and delivered more than 700 events within a single week, including performances, training sessions, exhibitions, and forums. "This year, the number rose to more than 2,000 linked activities, benefiting over 2 million people in just one week," Xu notes.

The center has also engaged in small rural theater productions in Linyi city, where villagers and hobbyist writers submit scripts, which are reviewed by provincial and national-level playwrights. Selected writers refine their work under experts' guidance, after which productions move to filming or live staging. "It's truly by the people and for the people," Xu says.

"Villagers write, perform, and watch the plays — sometimes even in immersive formats where audiences and performers interact. These are incredibly popular," she adds.

Digital empowerment has also played a major role. Xu points to the Shandong urban-rural integrated cultural station information platform, which now includes over 90 percent of the province's cultural stations.

By 2025, Shandong had more than 1,800 township cultural stations, with 71.6 percent rated as high-quality. Through an "order-based" service model, premium provincial cultural resources have been delivered directly to grassroots stations. "These platforms help cultural influences reach a wider audience," Xu says.

She sees this annual conference as a new starting point for future work.

"We will continue to draw inspiration from real rural vitalization practices, tell the stories of our countryside, and use culture to inject lasting vitality into rural development," she says.

As digital tools continue to evolve, many cultural centers across China are exploring new ways to enrich their offerings and respond more effectively to public needs.

Conference participants agree that the aim is not to replace traditional cultural experiences but to make calligraphy, opera, crafts, reading, and community activities more accessible and engaging.