AI-themed exhibits prominent at int'l cultural industries fair

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven technologies and AI-themed exhibits are dominating the 20th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) that officially opened in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province on Thursday, ensuring visitors of a brighter and smarter future.

For the first time, the five-day event has set up an international cultural trade exhibition, with an exhibition area spanning 20,000 square meters.

The main venue consists of eight pavilions focused on areas such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's cultural industry innovation, the integration of culture and tourism, gaming and e-sports, and Guochao, also known as Chinese trends or "China chic".

A special exhibition of "Cultural and Creative China" has been set up at the fair to showcase the latest achievements in promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture.

Visitors can have an immersive experience at the historical sites across China without personally visiting them via the cutting-edge AI applications.

The state-of-the-art technologies can also "revive" the ancient people who passed away thousands of years ago, helping visitors understand more about history and civilizations through the analysis of available data. Additionally, people can use AI to create interactive experiences and simulated conversations with the historical figures.

An AI-controlled mouse that can listen to users' voice commands and convert them into text wows visitors. Exhibitors say the tool is expected to be a game-changer to make our jobs more convenient and efficient.

According to the organizers, the event held offline and online simultaneously has attracted over 6,000 government entities, cultural organizations and enterprises, with more than 120,000 exhibits on display.

More than 300 overseas exhibitors from 60 countries and regions are participating in the fair.

Established in 2004, the fair has become a leading cultural event in China and an important platform to assist the Chinese culture in going global.

AI-themed exhibits prominent at int'l cultural industries fair

China's investment in fixed assets maintained steady growth in the first five months of 2024, accompanied by ongoing optimization of the investment structure, an official from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) told a press conference in Beijing on Monday.

Driven by the advancements in high-end, smart, and green manufacturing, investment in the manufacturing sector has posted strong growth momentum since the beginning of the year, according to the NBS,.

From January to May, investment in the manufacturing sector grew by 9.6 percent year on year, 5.6 percentage points faster than that of the total investment and contributing 57.3 percent to the growth of the total investment.

Notably, investment in high-tech industries has continued to expand, while investment in equipment upgrading and technological transformation has experienced accelerated growth.

"With the robust support of policies for large-scale upgrading of equipment, investment in the purchase of machinery and equipment showed a good growth momentum. In the January-May period, such investment increased by 17.5 percent year on year, outpacing the growth in the January-April period by 0.3 percentage points. Besides, there has been an accelerated pace of transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. During the same period, investment in technology transformation in the manufacturing sector grew by 10 percent year on year, marking a 1.5-percentage-point acceleration," said NBS spokeswoman Liu Aihua.

In addition, investment in major projects played a crucial role during the first five months, with completed investments in projects each with a planned total investment of 100 million yuan or more recording a year-on-year growth of 8.5 percent, driving a 4.6-percentage-point rise in the nation's total investment.

Looking ahead, China has broad space to increase effective investment and has huge investment potential in aspects such as innovation-driven development, transformation and upgrading, green transition, and people's livelihood, said the official.

China's investment in fixed assets grows steadily in Jan-May period