Festival offers visitors chance to 'enrich' lifestyle

The 2017 Salt Life Festival which was held by Phoenix Television in Beijing earlier this month was meant to promote a "humanistic lifestyle", a life "rich in content and quality" according to the organizers.

Speaking at the event, Chen Lusheng, the former deputy director of the National Museum of China and director of the Museum of Chinese Contemporary Art, said that everyone has the capability to contribute to the aesthetics of the current times.

Wang Yanling, the chairman of the Beijing 798 Cultural and Creative Industries panel, spoke about the history of the 798 art zone in the capital and added that 798 should be a communication platform for young artists around the world.

Xu Gehui, an anchor from Phoenix Television, said that a 30-year-old white-collar worker in tier-one cities spend 35,000 yuan ($5,300) a year on paintings, traveling, performances and other interests.

"In the future we need to help consumers establish identity and achieve a sense of belonging, especially women who need emotional interaction with products and services," she said.

At the festival, a trend report was released which shows that at present, the cultural industry has gone deeply into the field of humanism. Now, consumers are increasingly focusing on experience, aesthetics and emotional resonance, not just purchasing a functional product, the report said.

Quality, knowledge, personalization, interaction and experience are the five most prominent features in the field of human consumption, the report added.

Meanwhile, Phoenix TV created the "salt" app at the end of 2015 positioning it as an urban humanistic consumer life platform and providing users with information on exhibitions, performances, parenting and experiences through LBS (location-based service) geographical positioning.

At the festival, dozens of providers were present, offering drawing, pottery, embroidery, cocktail- making and African drum training for visitors.