Statistics of Cultural Undertakings
At the end of 2004, there were 2,599 performing arts groups, 2,858 culture centers, 2,710 public libraries and 1,509 museums in China. In addition, the country had 282 radio broadcasting stations, 314 TV stations and 60 TV stations dedicated to educational programs. Subscribers to cable TV programs numbered 114.7 million and cable digital TV programs were broadcast in 30 cities with 1.22 million subscribers. At the end of the year, the comprehensive population coverage rate of broadcasting was 94.1 percent while that of television was 95.3 percent. In the same year, 212 feature films and 44 scientific, educational, documentary and cartoon films were produced. National and provincial newspapers issued 25.77 billion copies; periodicals, 2.69 billion copies; and books, 6.44 billion copies. There number of archives stood at 3,982 and they made 56.26 million documents accessible to the public.

World Heritage Committee Meeting
The 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee was held in Suzhou, Jiangsu, from June 28 to July 7, 2004. This session, the first of its kind in China, was unprecedented in its duration. During the session, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization analyzed the problem of imbalance in the distribution of world heritage sites, especially between European and other countries. Delegates from Asian and African countries appealed for more opportunities for countries that, as yet, have no world heritage sites while limiting those in European countries. The session also adopted the Suzhou Declaration that urged participating countries to make youth the starting point for education on the protection of world heritage and to actively provide relevant services and guidance to the youth.

"French Culture Year" in China
The "China-France Culture Year" was jointly initiated by the leaders of the two countries when they visited each other in 1999 and 2000. The "French Culture Year" was held in China from October 2004 to July 2005. With the theme "Romance, Innovation and People-oriented," the program included more than 100 cultural activities in mainland cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, as well as Hong Kong, including French musician Jean Michel Jarre's concert at the Forbidden City, the French Design Art Show and the French Impressionistic Painting Show.

Archaeological Survey of Zhou Dynasty Tombs
On May 7, 2004, an archaeological team from Peking University discovered a large-scale tomb group of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771 B.C.) in Shaanxi Province. Located at the southern foot of Mount Qishan, the tomb group covers an area of some 80,000 square meters. Archaeologists believe the tombs were owned by the Duke of Zhou (Zhougong) and his family. Experts also found a 1,500-meter-long wall of the Western Zhou Dynasty outside the tomb group, which is of significance to the archaeological research on the Western Zhou Dynasty and to the study of ancient Chinese architecture. In addition, experts also discovered more than 700 pieces of tortoise shells of the Western Zhou Dynasty, providing exceptional materials for archaeological research.

Demonstration Bases for Cultural Development
On November 19, 2004, a total of 42 cultural enterprises, including the China Arts and Entertainment Group, the Beijing Children's Art Theater Co. Ltd., the Shanghai Shui On Group, the Jiangsu Cultural Industry Group Co. Ltd. and the Shanxi Wang's Grand Courtyard, were nominated by the Ministry of Culture as demonstration bases for the culture industry. These demonstration bases are commended to have developed their own brands in their pursuance of both social and economic benefits. With their successful attempts at pushing forward market-oriented operation of cultural projects, they have given a fillip to the development of the local culture industry. The Ministry of Culture expects them to play an exemplary role in promoting the development of local culture and thus strengthen the overall competitiveness of the Chinese culture industry. These demonstration bases cut across the culture industry and are recommended by local culture departments after taking into account expert opinions.

International Award Winners
A total of 24 titles of "The Most Beautiful Books in China" named in 2004 took part in an exhibition of "The Most Beautiful Books in the World" held in Leipzig, Germany, in 2005. Competing with 628 titles of books from 31 countries, two titles of Chinese books together with 12 titles from other countries bagged the annual book design award of "The Most Beautiful Books in the World." The Chinese books include Tudi designed by Wang Xu and published by the Hunan Art Press and the Zhu Yeqing Miscellaneous Writings Series designed by He Jun and published by the China Youyi Publishing House. It was the second time that Chinese books won such an award in a top international competition since The Picture Book of Mei Lanfang's Opera Portfolio was honored with the same award last year.

Sino-Foreign Copyright Trade and Publishing Cooperation
The Chinese Government has always attached much importance to cooperation in the publishing industry between China and other countries. According to the Regulations on the Administration of Publishing and the Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries, domestic and foreign publishers are allowed to cooperate in copyright trade and publishing.

Copyright trade was booming. For instance, the copyright of the Xinhua Dictionary with English Translation published by the Commercial Press International Co. Ltd. in 2000 has been bought by several publishers including those from Singapore, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Canada. The copyright of the book Deng Xiaoping on Socialism has been transferred to a Japanese press and 200,000 volumes of the book have been published and distributed in Japan. Through transference of copyright, the Japanese edition of the China National Geography magazine was published in Japan in 2000, with more than 20,000 volumes of the first issue and over 30,000 volumes of the second distributed. Publication of English, Swedish and Malaysian editions of the magazine under the same formula is also under discussion now. Copyright exports have become an important channel for Chinese publications to go global.

Publishing cooperation has also been frequently adopted by Chinese and foreign presses. The China International Publishing Group, in cooperation with the American Yale University Press, is planning to publish more than 20 different book series on Chinese culture and civilization, of which two have already been completed. The project has inputs from both sides of both manpower and capital. The Chinese and English editions of the book series will be distributed in China and the United States, respectively.

Sino-Foreign periodical copyright cooperation is welcomed. Under this formula of cooperation, Chinese periodicals can have a long-term copyright cooperation with foreign counterparts and use their contents. For years, Chinese periodicals that have engaged in such approved cooperation have seen remarkable quality improvements. They have learnt about the running of periodicals from their foreign counterparts and this will help promote the development of the periodical industry in China.

Import and Export of Publications
According to the Regulations on the Administration of Publishing, only licensed companies can deal with the import of publications. Among publications, the import of newspapers and periodicals is allowed for companies designated by the government only without any permission to other units or individuals. To date, 38 companies have been granted the right to import and export publications.

From 1997 to 2003, the export of Chinese publications continued to increase. The volume of nationwide book exports increased from 2.2 million to 4.65 million, with the turnover involved surging from US$9.27 million to US$18.67 million. Export of newspapers climbed from 200,000 to 800,000 copies, with the value growing from US$150,000 to US$980,000. Export of audio-visual products grew from 20,000 to 1.289 million pieces, with the value increasing from US$190,000 to US$1.12 million. Export of electronic publications increased from 907 to 37,534 pieces, representing an increase in value from US$30,000 to US$270,000. Although the volume of periodical exports decreased from 2.56 million to 2.21 million copies, the value increased from US$2.68 million to 3.65 million.

Active Collection of Artworks
In recent years, auction and private collection of Chinese artworks have flourished, becoming an important investment choice after stocks and housing projects. The market for Chinese artworks can be said to be in its golden age.

Authoritative statistics show that there are currently 68 million collectors registered at relevant associations throughout China, whose interests include ancient bronze ware, chinaware, jade articles, painting and calligraphy, furniture, coins, garments and accessories, stele, the four treasures of study (writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper), ancient books, historical materials of China's Communist revolution, clocks and watches, root-carvings, bookmarks, old photos and wedding souvenirs.

Auction houses all over the country have been seeing continuous growth in terms of the number, quality and price of the works auctioned. In 2004, Sotheby's Hong Kong recorded a turnover of HK$445 million at its spring auction of Chinese artworks and jewelries. The figure was the highest in years and 28 percent higher as compared with the autumn auction in 2003. The China Guardian Auction Co. Ltd. took 360 million yuan into the account book at its 2004 spring auction, consolidating its dominant position in the domestic auction market. By the end of 2004, the total volume of business of China's big auction houses had reached 6.9 billion yuan.

More than 250,000 collection-related Chinese websites, such as Guardian online, Artron.net, Chinacollect.net, Csc.net.cn and so on, make it easy for collectors to reach the works that interest them. According to statistics from Ebay.com.cn, one new work for collection is put online every two minutes, with two bids occurring every minute and one work sold every two minutes.

Sharp Fall in Traditional Operas
A survey of the current situation on traditional operas and opera troupes show that with the dramatic changes in social life, traditional opera art has become a rarity on urban areas, but is also fast disappearing in rural areas. According to the Chinese Opera Chronicles compiled in 1983, there were 49 types of traditional operas in Shanxi Province then, but the latest survey done jointly by the China Art Institute and the Shanxi Drama Research Institute shows that this number stands at just 28. Almost one type of traditional opera disappeared every year on average between 1983 and 2004. Some experts have warned that with ever-improving material conditions and more variety in cultural experiences, traditional opera art has lost its dominant position.