Two Chinese cities recognized by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network met and 
melted in a recent interdisciplinary exchange. The event themed "When Design 
City Meets City of Literature: Cross-Cultural Dialogue Between Shenzhen and 
Nanjing", a flagship activity on the sidelines of the 22nd Shenzhen Reading 
Month, demonstrates how Chinese cities have stayed committed to driving social 
development through innovation.

Shenzhen Reading Month has been an annual event held in November since 2000, 
making it one of Shenzhen's ten shining cultural brand names and shaping an 
enabling climate for reading, according to the Organizing Committee of Shenzhen 
Reading Month. In 2013, UNESCO named Shenzhen a global model for the promotion 
of reading. As of 2020, Shenzhen had led the country in the annual number of 
books purchased per capita for 30 consecutive years, according to media 
reports. 

Shenzhen, a young city of immigrants though, is cultivating its distinctive 
resources of culture and literature, said Bi Feiyu, writer and professor at 
Nanjing University.

While developing its distinct cultural identities, Shenzhen embarks on a 
journey of discovery that excitingly invites fine traditions from across the 
globe, given its lack of cultural legacies compared with historic cities. Among 
Shenzhen Urban Culture Menu activities that the metropolis has rolled out since 
2017, two-thirds have global influence. On top of learning about and from 
overseas cultures, the city has also enriched itself by inaugurating the 
National Book Release Center, an inspiration of Shenzhen Publishing Group. 
Furthermore, the publisher has integrated promotion and marketing resources and 
brought together prime publishing elements, seeing blockbuster books first 
released in Shenzhen in a way that practically breaks the pattern dominated by 
Beijing and Shanghai.

The National Book Release Center has forged strategic cooperation relationships 
with the Publishers Association of China, 30 plus Chinese publishing agencies, 
and over 20 brick-and-mortar bookstores in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, as 
well as influential new media platforms, noted Qiu Gan, vice general manager of 
Shenzhen Publishing Group, adding that the best new books will be selected for 
release and promotion.
   
Empowered by cultural vitality extracted from a dynamic market, the design 
city, China's first recognized by UNESCO, is moving toward a more creative hub 
for innovation and startups. Its graphic and packaging design and decoration 
sectors, inspired by the counterparts in Hong Kong at the beginning of the 
reform and opening-up, have thrived along with the city's economic boom. And it 
is market forces that constantly drive the transition. 
  
In 2020, Shenzhen's GDP stood at RMB 2.76 trillion, with its per capita 
disposable income surpassing RMB 64,000. Such a massive consumer market, along 
with the demands created therefrom, has helped energize and upgrade the 
cultural sector. On the sidelines of this year's Reading Month event is an 
overcrowding Shenzhen Book Fair, which exemplifies the critical impact of urban 
culture on innovation and creativity.
   
Speaking of feelings about the cross-cultural dialogue, Feng Changhong, 
president of the Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, believed 
that observations of and love for real life are a springboard for creativity 
and inspiration, and literature is about people resorting to written language 
as a way of expressing their real life and emotions, while design means 
concretizing these feelings with stunning color combinations and sophisticated 
techniques. That being said, a competent designer can be inspired to produce a 
sketch just by an image of literature, a testimony to how literature and design 
can be a great source of inspiration for each other, Feng added. 

Shenzhen is fostering a literary and artistic atmosphere for the general public 
with the beauty of design. That means the immersive cultural experience is no 
longer a privilege for the elegant sitting in an opera house. Instead, the 
society-wide cultural campaign has enabled ordinary people to feel a sense of 
arts and literature from buildings of various styles, such as urban parks, 
sculptures on street corners, and themed cafes. What impressed Bi most, in his 
words, was that Shenzhen is growing more attractive. "The well-designed city as 
a whole always puts people first, as evidenced by user-friendly designs seen 
everywhere. This shows aesthetic features it has to offer and embodies a spirit 
of humanity," said the Nanjing writer.

Design, in the view of Feng, reveals a city's fundamental culture and develops 
its unique character over time. Only when its design is deeply intertwined with 
economy, culture, and the urban landscape can the design city be deserved.

Source: The Organizing Committee of Shenzhen Reading Month