Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 15th. Title: Xinhua News Agency Cultural Essay: The Power of Culture in the “15th Five-Year Plan” Special Plan
Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Wei
2026 is the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. A blueprint for cultural development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period is being unfolded.
The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Protection and Inheritance of Cultural Heritage", the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Culture and Tourism", the "15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Tourism Power" and special plans for art development, public cultural service system construction, intangible cultural heritage protection and inheritance, and cultural industry development. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of National Cultural Relics Undertakings"...
A series of plans outline the path forward for my country's cultural construction. Between the lines are the confidence and responsibility of an ancient civilization to move towards a cultural power.
From the planning, we can read the affectionate protection of the roots of civilization.
According to the deployment, during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, our country will strive to build a "cultural heritage protection pattern" to fully demonstrate the important role of cultural heritage in building a socialist cultural power.
The richer the family's wealth, the more careful it must be to protect it. There are 108 million pieces (sets) of state-owned movable cultural relics, more than 900,000 immovable cultural relics, 61 world heritages, 45 intangible cultural heritage items listed on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list, more than 100,000 representative intangible cultural heritage items at all levels, and dotted with famous historical and cultural cities, towns and villages... They have come from the depths of history, and they must move towards a broad future.
Under the vision of the macro-protection pattern, a series of new measures will be steadily advanced: establishing a national general catalog of cultural heritage resources, promoting overall coordinated protection, and formulating cultural heritage protection laws... In the process of creative transformation and innovative development, the Chinese cultural heritage will continue to stretch and shine with each passing day.
From the planning, we can read the vitality of cultural tourism development.
The deep integration of culture and tourism is the main line of cultural and tourism development during the “15th Five-Year Plan”. In 2025, there will be 6.52 billion domestic trips, with a total expenditure of 6.3 trillion yuan; the national cultural industry will achieve an operating income of 20.8 trillion yuan. Looking forward from a new starting point, by 2030, the number of domestic outbound and inbound tourists will reach a new level, and cultural industries and tourism will accelerate to become pillar industries, people's livelihood industries, and happiness industries.
With the layout in place, a new pattern of cultural tourism development is taking shape at an accelerated pace. Famous tourist counties and "treasure towns" are revitalized, "cultural tourism + various industries" and "various industries + cultural tourism" continue to deepen. Cultural tourism and sports events, business district renewal, and park upgrades are diversified and integrated, adding more "cultural flavor" and "fireworks" to economic and social development.
From the planning, you can read the warm daily life of thousands of lights.
By the end of 2025, there were 3,253 public libraries, 7,188 registered museums, and nearly 44,000 mass cultural institutions across the country. Facilities have been built, and the needs of the masses are also escalating. Public cultural services must shift from "whether they are available" to "whether they are good or not."
The reality of benefiting the people can be seen in the details of the plan - by 2030, residents will receive public cultural facilities services up to 3.5 times per year per person, build an inclusive and convenient quality cultural life circle, and build public cultural institutions such as cultural centers into lifelong aesthetic education schools for the people...
New public cultural spaces on street corners, well-lit citizen art night schools, and vibrant new popular literature and art will open up the "last mile" of public cultural services. High-quality cultural resources sink into communities and reach the countryside, and people feel the nourishment of culture through daily fireworks.
From the planning, we can read the surging momentum towards newness.
Against the background of the accelerated development of new productive forces, cultural development during the “15th Five-Year Plan” will highlight digital and intelligent empowerment and informatization transformation. Emerging technologies will accelerate their transformation into new cultural and tourism formats, new products, and new scenarios, and be integrated into the entire chain of creation, operation, and communication.
The "three new things" of culture, represented by online literature, online games, and online film and television dramas, are the vivid epitome of technology empowering cultural innovation - relying on digital genes and interactive features to build a new ecology of Chinese cultural communication around the world in a more daily and immersive way.
Driven by digital intelligence technology, culture goes overseas to explore deeper civilizational exchanges and mutual learning, value transmission and emotional resonance. What spans mountains and seas is not only the vivid Chinese story, but also the various aspects of people's livelihood and the profound Chinese wisdom behind the story.
The direction is set and the steps are solid. A series of "15th Five-Year Plan" cultural special plans, keeping the roots of cultural heritage and initiating innovation, are converging into a profound force in building a cultural power.
