Zhejiang's cultural achievements during 14th Five-Year Plan period

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), Zhejiang province achieved remarkable progress in cultural development, significantly enhancing its cultural soft power and laying a solid foundation for becoming a culturally strong province.

The province's cultural and artistic creations yielded impressive results, with 19 works receiving the national "Five-One Project" award — 12 of them selected in the 17th edition alone, ranking second nationwide. Zhejiang produced several outstanding cultural works including the television series The Knockout, while its cultural research initiatives led to the publication of over 3,900 academic works. The monumental A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings compiled 12,405 pieces of painting collections, drawing widespread international attention.

The cultural and related industries showed remarkable growth, with value-added output increasing from 458.4 billion yuan ($64.42 billion) in 2020 to 660 billion yuan in 2024, raising its GDP share from 6.8 to 7.3 percent.

Cultural tourism flourished, with the industry achieving an estimated value-added output of approximately 540 billion yuan. The province leveraged its UNESCO World Heritage sites, including West Lake, the Grand Canal, and the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City, and saw three additional scenic areas designated as 5A-level attractions. Innovative digital platforms like the "Zhejiang Travel" smart system were also introduced to enhance the tourist experience.

Zhejiang also pioneered the Cultural Commissioner Initiative, dispatching 1,574 commissioners to rural areas and organizing 33,000 cultural activities. The province maintained its National Civilized Cities status across all 11 prefecture-level cities while establishing over 18,000 rural cultural centers and 16,000 "15-minute quality cultural life circles".

The province successfully hosted high-profile events such as the Hangzhou Asian Games, the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, and the Liangzhu Forum.

As Zhejiang looks ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), the province plans to accelerate its development into a culturally strong province and strive to set an example as a modern socialist cultural powerhouse.