Related stories

To Dally in the Alley Numbers Game to Preserve Old Beijing The Second Capital Region Economic Forum for Southwest of Beijing: NEW BEIJING, NEW SOUTHWEST 50 Things to Do in Beijing Tongchunyuan Restaurant: Fine Dining Jiangsu Style

Liulichang: Creative Future in Store for Ancient Cultural Street

A culture is a repository of a nation’s and its people’s values. No country can exist if there is no culture to reflect the common purposes of its being.

As the cultural centre of China, when you know Beijing, the real Beijing, you will also know, to some extent, the diverse cultural make up of China. Is there a short cut to gaining this knowledge? Well…not really, but a good place to start is in Beijing’s Liulichang, a cultural street unlike any others.

Liulichang is one of the three representatives of ancient culture in the capital, along with the Forbidden City, representing the imperial past, and Tianqiao, representing China’s folk culture. Liulichang was a place where China’s intellectual and official cultures mixed and mingled, where achievements in learning and aesthetics were valued, displayed and traded, a first stop for intellectuals visiting or moving to Beijing, a place where humble artists could get the attention of wealthy aficionados.

Over time, the creative actions of officials, bookmen, literary figures, cultural businessmen and opera actors resulted in the rise of a profound cultural presence highlighting the arts and crafts, Chinese paintings and calligraphy, books and antiques and the tools and materials used to make them.

Wandering along Liulichang Street and browsing its shops and their sometimes overfilled shelves, it’s easy to lose yourself in this sea of antiques, books, painting and calligraphy, arts and crafts, four treasures of the study (wenfang sibao: brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper) stores. Then there are the many former residences of the celebrities, guild halls and temples that can be visited.

Many shops in this area still rely on their traditional trade patterns of doing business. They call this traditional trade “cuff trade.” For example, when a customer asks the price of a painting, the seller will show the price with his fingers stealthily by covering his fingers with his cuff. If a client accepts a price, he will touch the hand of the owner under the cuff. Then it’s a done deal. If not, he will bargain with the owner in the same way. In fact, many antiques have no certain prices, so they are traded this way most of the time.

Zhang Yuanchao, chairman of Beijing Jingdu Wenhua Investment Company, who is also the director of the General Office of Liulichang Cultural and Creative Park, said, “If we can deal some priceless paintings or antiques in the way of shares, yes, like the stock market, it would be an unprecedented reform and revolution.”

While Zhang’s consideration may at first seem fanciful, in fact, the establishment of an Artwork Stock Exchange Centre is under discussion. No matter whether this theoretical artwork stock exchange is practicable or whether it can be created, some Beijing officials and business leaders have begun to eye this cultural gold mine. They hope to “standardize” the cultural market here and to transform this dispersed and less-efficient cultural business part of a larger industry: the cultural and creative industry.

In April 2008, Liulichang was authorized as one among 11 Beijing Cultural and Creative Industry Clusters. The area covers 88 hectares. Seven main disciplines already exist in the area: artwork appraisal, artwork creation, art technique research, the artwork expo industry, antiques exchange, traditional handicraft manufacturing, urban culture tourism and the cultural entertainment industry.

Liulichang applied to be a cultural and creative industry cluster in 2007. In 2006, companies in the area that are large enough for state statistical compilation yielded 1.5 billion yuan (US$219.57 million) and 420 million yuan (US$61.47 million) in profits. Tourism income exceeded 600 million yuan (US$87.82 million). The trade volume of antiques and artworks exceeded 3.5 billion yuan (US$512.27 million) in value, with a profit of 200 million yuan (US$29.28 million) in 2006, providing 6,000 jobs for culture-related workers, including 2,000 professionals.

Liulichang is more than a “pretty face”; it is home to 54 of some of China’s most famous time-honoured companies, including Rongbaozhai, the Cathay Bookshop and Yidege. These 54 old companies reported about 500 million yuan (US$73.18 million) in turnover in 2006.

The most prestigious among there is the 300-year-old Rongbaozhai Art Gallery. The company has opened outlets in Tokyo, New York, Singapore and Seoul as the Rongbaozhai (Hong Kong) Company Limited.

But the creation of a complete industrial chain requires the support of the government, both in terms of financing and policy. The Xuanwu District Government has appropriated 10 million yuan (US$1.46 million) funds to support the cultural and creative industry in this area.In 2007, 2.7 million yuan (US$395,363) was invested in Beijing Datang Wanbang Replication Technique Company Limited, 400,000 yuan (US$58,572.02) in Huguang Guild Hall Opera Theatre, 500,000 yuan (US$73,215.02) in Beijing Jingdu Wenhua Investment Company and 530,000 (US$77,607.92 ) in Daiyuexuan Writing Brush and Ink Stick Company Limited.

The Xuanwu District Government has invested 20 million yuan (US$2.93 million) in Beijing Zhengda Guangcai Guarantee Company to strengthen its guarantee capability. By April 2007, this company had provided 76.5 million yuan (US$11.2 million) in loan guarantees for 26 enterprises.

The development of Liulichang’s cultural and creative industry has not been as smooth as it could have been, although the government has lent it support. Liulichang is a typical protected area in this ancient city, yet the need for preservation of historical sistes sometimes conflict with efforts to modernize the capital and improve living conditions for its residents.

Cars and buses can smoothly drive through the 34-metre-wide and 1.200-metre-long Nan Xinhua Dajie, a major thoroughfare in Liulichang that bisects Liulichang Xijie and Dongjie (Culture Street). The government spent 210 million yuan (US$30.76 million) to upgrade and improve this road.

The construction of a cultural and creative industry requires space, just as with other industrial-cluster areas such as 798 or Zhongguancun. But the relocation of the residents in this area is a difficult problem. In this 19-square-kilometre area of Xuanwu District, there live about 160,000 permanent residents. In Liulichang, there are about 450 people for every hectare: about 45,000 people face relocation. But the residents in this area seldom have more than 10-square-metres of living space per capita. To be able to afford alternative housing, this means they’d have to sell their houses for between 50,000 yuan to 80,000 yuan (US$7,321 to $11,714) per square metre. The height of buildings in this area is also limited (no higher than nine metres), which hampers returns on investments in real estate development. An example of this situation already exists in the Dashilan area (near Qianmen) where a real estate company has invested 1.4 billion yuan (US$205 million) over four years for the renovation Dashilan and removal of residents. The value of this investment has yet to be proven.

Undaunted, many are seeking creative ways to eliminate bottlenecks to development. The Liulichang Cultural and Creative Park manager has taken on an experiment. At the corner of Nan Xinhua Dajie and Zhushikou Xilu, a 68,828-square-metre area called the M Zone, renovation and construction is easier to do. This area will become a Liulichang International Cultural and Art Exchange Centre, which will include a five-star hotel, a high-class courtyard-style business club, an international artwork appreciation and auction centre, an oriental antique appreciation hall, an international artist hall and the Wudaomiao Creative Square. Implementation awaits various governmental actions and investor support.

Still, the area’s visionaries are not wholly relying on the government; the manager of the Liulichang Cultural and Creative Industry Park said he hopes the original residents of this area will be able to participate in the construction of the park. “If they want to join us, they are welcome to rent their houses for art galleries or other cultural and creative workshops,” said Zhang. Although facing many difficulties, developers believe the introduction of 30 world-renown galleries, 300 copyright-exchange centres and auction organizations, hundreds of international design, media and movie organizations, painting and calligraphy and folk art museums, art centres and private museums will eventually cause the area to bloom in the heart of Beijing.

琉璃厂文化创意产业集聚区

北京与世界沟通的新舞台

文/赵迪迪

琉璃厂地区在中国历史上是大批文人墨客、贸易商贾、梨园艺人等的聚居之地，文化底蕴丰富，人文资源层次多样。清朝时，这里形成了由皇家文化、士人文化和平民文化构成的文化体系。其中，士人文化作为宣南文化的重要组成部分，起源于琉璃厂，并在此繁荣兴盛。

如今，北京琉璃厂文化创意产业集聚区（以下简称琉璃厂）作为北京市第二批获批的文化创意产业集聚区，已经成为传承和丰富宣南文化的主要载体，并逐步与世界文化艺术风潮接轨，致力于打造传统北京与现代北京对话、现代北京与当今世界沟通的新舞台。根据规划，琉璃厂计划用5年左右的时间，逐步建设成为国际最权威的中国书画艺术创作与交流中心、中国最权威的文化艺术创意版权中心、亚洲最具影响力的高端艺术品鉴定与拍卖中心、亚洲最大的现代艺术设计中心、荟萃世界工艺大师的民间工艺产业中心和中国最具活力的艺术传媒发展中心。

跨越时代重现繁华

在中国古代的明朝初期（1368年），琉璃厂因作为烧制琉璃瓦件的窑厂而得名，这里生产的大量琉璃制品将北京城装点得金碧辉煌。直到清朝康熙末年，为了消除窑厂黑烟对京城的污染，窑厂被迁至门头沟琉璃渠，琉璃厂成为一片荒地。此后，小贩摊商聚集于此，逐渐成市，书籍古董也时有在此交易。当时的官员大多居于皇城南面、琉璃厂附近，下朝后便顺路到琉璃厂闲逛一番。同时，由于宣南一带兴建起了大量会馆，居住于此的文人学士也常到琉璃厂寻觅文章典籍，这片地区便逐渐形成了以经营书籍为主的街市。清乾隆时期（1736年）修纂《四库全书》，编修者汇聚于此，广搜天下经、史、子、集，琉璃厂的书商源源不断地提供所需的善本典籍。北京的书店、字画和文具等行业逐渐集中，以经营文化用品为主要内容的琉璃厂逐渐形成。

20世纪三四十年代是琉璃厂古玩业的黄金时期，其中有代表性的大观斋、德宝斋、尊古斋等一大批古玩店，不仅规模大、经营的文物希珍，还培养了一大批文物收藏家、鉴定家。1980年，经巨资改建，琉璃厂文化街恢复了明清古典建筑风格，安置了荣宝斋、中国书店等54家老字号。2005年，宣武区改造南新华街，建成了一条纵贯琉璃厂南北，34米宽的城市主干道，琉璃厂再次焕发了青春。

集聚区产业基础雄厚

2006年，宣武区推出“宣南文化园”发展规划，决定打造琉璃厂文化创意产业园区。如今的琉璃厂以深厚的传统文化底蕴，荟萃各地民族民间文化艺术精品，着眼科学规划、盘活存量、自主创新，充分利用文化特色资源发展文化创意产业。园区已被列为北京市文化产业“十一五”规划的重点项目，并于2008年4月成功入选北京市第二批文化创意产业集聚区。

琉璃厂东起延寿街、胭脂胡同规划路，西至东椿树胡同、四川营胡同，南起骡马市大街、珠市口大街，北至前门西大街，占地面积88万平方米。区内拥有100余家各类古玩店铺、54家中华老字号著名商标企业、2个国有文物鉴定中心等。目前，集聚区正在着力发展五大产业：即古玩艺术品交易业、传统手工艺制造业、城市文化旅游业、文化娱乐业和艺术品产权交易业，全力打造具有多功能和多方位效益的文化创意产业基地。

2007年，园区内的翰海、荣宝和海王村3家拍卖公司古玩艺术品拍卖成交额合计达到16.35亿元，占全国艺术品拍卖业总成交额的6.8%，北京市成交额的16.4%。拥有780多年艺术品牌历史的琉璃厂文化街富有一大批老字号和知名企业，雄厚的产业基础和合理的业态布局，以及得天独厚的市场号召力和多年树立的国际声誉，赋予了琉璃厂古玩艺术品交易业的主导产业地位。

中华老字号荣宝斋起源于清康熙年间的“松竹斋”，是字画艺术品经营的代表性企业，在中国多个省市建立分店和经销处的同时积极走向世界，先后在东京、纽约、新加坡、汉城设立了经销处，在中国香港设立了“荣宝斋(香港)有限公司”，把当代著名书画家启功、程十发、范曾等的优秀作品推广给海外的中国书画艺术爱好者，也把外国书画家的佳作带到北京举办画展。通过荣宝大厦的建设和经营，荣宝斋加快调整并形成新的业务结构、经营模式和企业经济结构，逐步实现以北京总店为中心、辐射全国大中城市的多种经营模式的市场网络和企业组织构架，形成美术产业链条和规模经营优势。

中国书店是中国最大的古旧书店，下设12个经营部门，拥有1家出版社(中国书店出版社)、2家经营公司(北京海王村拍卖有限责任公司、北京瑞祥泰商贸有限责任公司)、3家参股公司(北京图书大厦、中关村图书大厦、北京外文书店)。中国书店将海外市场的拓展视为古旧书经营重要的增长点，至今已与美国、英国、法国、德国等数十个国家以及中国台湾、香港、澳门地区近200家知名研究机构建立了良好的业务关系，海外各地区的新印古籍销售量稳步增长。

戴月轩、汲古阁、清秘阁等老字号企业各有所长，企业创意能力逐步增强，技术创新能力不断提升。荣宝斋木版水印、古籍装帧手艺，肄雅堂古籍修复技术，戴月轩湖笔制作工艺等多项专利和技术更是古玩艺术界不可多得的瑰宝。

集聚辐射功能凸现

琉璃厂经过长期历史积淀和大力扶持发展，产业集聚、辐射带动和品牌影响作用已经初步形成，在北京市、全国乃至世界文化创意产业发展中的战略地位也得到了更大程度的持续和延伸。

由于琉璃厂产业集聚规模不断扩大，在申报北京市第二批文化创意产业集聚区时，其规模以上企业主营业务收入15亿元，实现利润4.2亿元，资产总计22.4亿元；旅游接待量400多万人次，旅游综合收入超过6000万元。古玩艺术品交易业的主导产业地位进一步确立，园区内各类艺术品年交易额超过35亿元，相关就业人数6000人，专业从业人员2000余人，年利润额超过2亿元。产业体系不断完善，集聚区艺术品创作、研发、博览、鉴赏业，尤其是传统手工艺制造、艺术品评估、鉴定、培训等相关辅助产业和字画装裱、印章篆刻以及餐饮等服务衍生业发展较快，基本形成了较为完善的产业链条。

在申报文化创意产业集聚区时，集聚区共聚集411家以文化创意产业为主营业务的经营单位，54家老字号年总经营额约5亿元。企业创意能力逐步增强，在保护和抢救传统文化资源的基础上，注重科技和创意的充分结合，技术创新能力不断提升，拥有荣宝斋木版水印，大唐万邦数字分色、墨色合成复制中国历代古书画技术等多项专利和技术。品牌规模企业效益不断扩大，艺术品拍卖交易已经形成了一定的聚集和示范效应，集聚区的爆发潜力和集聚效益日益突现，在北京市、乃至中国都占据着举足轻重的地位。

琉璃厂文化创意产业集聚区的产业特征是以主导产业为主体，以上游、下游关联产业为配套的产业集聚区域。中国书店、荣宝斋、瀚海拍卖等一批产业龙头企业和项目的发展，带动了相关企业的集聚和配套，实现了上下游企业的集聚和产业链的延伸；以艺术品交易业为主导产业的产业集聚发展，不仅有效拉动了琉璃厂地区相关产业发展，带动衍生产品行业产值逾10亿元，吸引和容纳各类高端创意、经纪和营销人才聚集，相关从业人员达万人以上；同时发挥区域产业辐射功能，推动了周边地区的产业提升和融合，而且还通过业务领域的持续拓展，对北京市、中国乃至世界的文化创意产业都产生了积极的影响和贡献。琉璃厂文化创意产业集聚区作为整个宣武区文化创意产业的核心区域，相继带动了周边产业功能区的发展，尤其推动了与之相邻的拥有相似资源禀赋的大栅栏商业文化区的整合和提升，把宣武区丰富的文化资源优势转化为区域经济发展的品牌优势和市场优势，推动了全区产业结构的调整优化，带动了整个宣武区区域经济和社会发展。

琉璃厂不仅是北京文物、古玩艺术品的重要集散地，是著名的传统文化旅游街区，也是展示北京悠久传统的胡同文化、四合院文化、会馆文化等的集合地，在国内外享有盛誉，每年接待国内外旅客400多万人次，区域内古玩艺术品年交易额近20亿。琉璃厂文化创意产业集聚区充分表现出活跃的国际交往和文化交流能力，体现丰富的文化创意研究和文化旅游功能。集聚区的品牌定位和影响不断塑造和提升，逐步成为展示老北京传统文化的重要窗口，和宣传宣南文化精髓的重要平台。

完善产业链组成有机产业体

琉璃厂文化创意产业集聚区将进入产业快速集聚和发展阶段。目前，集聚区拟启动并争取资金、政策支持一批子项目，一是琉璃厂国际文化艺术交流中心，地面积约6.88万平方米，总建筑面积8万平方米，总投资约为5.76亿元，作为创造、鉴赏、交流、展示原创作品的空间。中心的建成将作为集聚区的国际化流通中枢区域，发挥在整体产业园区打造中的带动和先导作用，使琉璃厂成为中国最具影响力的高端艺术国际交流中心；二是琉璃厂文化创意产业孵化基地，以厂甸大楼为基础，打造琉璃厂文化创意产业成果转化培育中心；三是琉璃厂创意文化艺术家村，将充分利用现有四合院群落肌理，建设开发为具有中国文化风格标志的艺术家村落；四是数字分色及水色、墨色合成复制中国历代古书画技术项目，已取得国家发明专利，拥有自主知识产权，是现代技术创意在文化层次上的应用；五是在东琉璃厂南侧建设一个建筑面积约5000平方米、可容纳450个车位、总投资3000万元的立体停车楼，以解决地区交通和停车问题；六是规划在东、西琉璃厂之间建设标志性廊桥，总投资约600万元，为体现琉璃厂的完整性和地区发展创造良好的基础设施条件，同时可在廊桥内举办画展，获取一举两得之功效。

集聚区还将重点建设安徽文化艺术创意馆，建成集徽派艺术创作、新技术成果应用等为一体，集徽派艺术与创意相结合的，代表琉璃厂创意文化产业亮点项目；引进数字化琉璃厂概念，通过建设多媒体信息网络、地理信息系统等基础设施平台，整合琉璃厂文化创意产业的信息资源；推出个性化国学空间项目，引入国内外顶级的规划设计机构，形成一个创意机构群，与琉璃厂现有的字画等艺术品商业机构共同组成一个有机的文化创意产业体。

在产业发展配套方面，琉璃厂文化创意产业集聚区将逐步开展艺术品增值服务，围绕艺术品交易衍生环节，不断建立和完善艺术品证券化、艺术品期货、艺术品银行和艺术品风险投资等业务，延伸产业链条，提升产业核心竞争力；制定艺术品行业标准，通过组织成立专门的权威机构和行业组织，设立艺术智库，制定行业标准，形成知识产权，不断规范交易行为，为相关产业发展营造良好的环境。

琉璃厂文化创意产业集聚区作为宣武区的典型代表，其快速发展将影响和带动集聚区周边地区及其它文化创意产业区域的发展，使其享受到文化创意产业集聚区的相关产业政策扶持。同时，作为北京市文化创意产业园区重要组成部分，琉璃厂文化创意产业集聚区的开拓创新将会推动全市文化创意产业的整体进步，促使文化创意产业发展成为首都经济的重要支柱和新引擎。