China's cultural and tourism industries demonstrated robust growth and vitality during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, with record-breaking figures logged across multiple areas, a government official said on Thursday.
During the period, the culture and tourism sectors became increasingly integrated and had emerging as a key engine of economic growth, fueled by booming markets, vibrant holiday travel and growing public enthusiasm for museums and traditional arts, Wang Jianhua, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism, told a press conference in Beijing.
"By the end of 2025, there were 3,253 public libraries, 7,188 registered museums, and nearly 44,000 public cultural institutions nationwide, with 1,557 items on the national representative list of intangible cultural heritage and 3,994 representative inheritors," Wang said.
The strong momentum extended well beyond cultural industry, with the industry's economic output and tourism figures reaching new heights.
"In 2025, the cultural industry generated 20.8 trillion yuan (about 3.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in revenue, growing at an average annual rate of 8.4 percent between 2021 and 2025. Domestic travel set new records, with 6.52 billion trips and total spending of 6.3 trillion yuan. Meanwhile, the performing arts sector staged 640,000 commercial performances and earned 61.6 billion yuan in revenue, both up more than six percent year on year," said the official.
China's cultural, tourism sectors log robust growth during 14th Five-Year Plan period: official
