…With Beijing due to host the 2008 Olympics, the next few years are being seen as offering China a chance to show that it is more than just the world’s centre of manufacturing industry. Films will play a major part in that drive, but they are not the only focus. China has the world’s fastest-growing book market and the English rights to last year’s bestseller by Jiang Rong, The Wolf Totem, was acquired by Penguin Books in September for a reported $100,000 (¬£57,000).
Cultural industries have also expanded to include education. China has set up 26 Confucius Institutes around the world to teach Chinese languages and culture. And, as fewer Chinese students study overseas with home universities enjoying a wave of funding, more foreigners are arriving to study. A decade ago, the number of overseas students was 36,000, now it is 110,000.
But, as China peddles a softer side, life for those involved in cultural industries can still be uncomfortable.
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