Giving culture fair play

In Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, the Chunxi Road Culture Fair packed in nighttime visitors in July with paper-cut, floral-arrangement, painting and calligraphy displays, as well as Sichuan Opera performances and qipao (traditional Chinese dresses) showcases.

In Shanghai's Jing'an district, many time-honored brands impressed visitors with upgraded products at its cultural and creative fair.

For example, the producer of Butterfly sewing machines, which were popular in the 1970s, showcased its new Wi-Fi and intelligent add-ons.

The 400-year-old Shanghai Leiyunshang Pharmaceutical brand integrated tradition and fashion, and offered perfumed satchels and essential oils. Visitors also made their own satchels.

Nanjing Institute of Tourism and Hospitality associate professor Lyu Shengnan believes cultural and creative fairs can effectively boost the retail, catering, accommodation and leisure sectors, and inject new vitality into cultural and tourism development.

Lyu proposes the continued diversification of fairs' content to offer immersive experiences, such as developing facilities for the public to experience traditional arts.

Zeng Bowei, director of the China Tourism Economics and Policy Research Center of Beijing Union University, calls for more policy and financial support for such fairs, and continued efforts to mine local cultural resources and increase short-distance leisure-and-tourism consumption.

Li Hui from Shine Hills believes cultural and creative fairs offer slow-paced lifestyle experiences.

"You don't necessarily have to buy something while shopping. Just enjoy the process of trying things out and looking for good stuff," Li says.

The Beijing commercial zone will continue to host similar fairs, featuring domestic fashion, red wine and coffee during the National Day holiday, Li says.