Can you imagine the Mona Lisa jumping out from a two-dimensional screen and answering your questions with her unique expression? And can you imagine you are just a few steps away from the late singer， Teresa Teng， performing with her sweet voice…These are the virtual images created at the 5th China International Cultural Creative Industry Expo (ICCIE)， which was held in Beijing from Nov. 17-21， 2010.These miraculous experiences were one of the features at the Xicheng exhibition area. With a combination of 3D technology and holograms， the characters in these artworks and pop singers who passed away years ago could “speak”， “walk”and “sing” across space and time. This is the result of bringing the hi-tech and art together.The expo， which lasted four days， attracted an audience of more than 200，000， including many professional visitors; and the 24 projects drew attention from over 4，000 merchants.According to incomplete statistics， during the expo， the gross amount of contracts signed related to artistic performance， publishing， copyrights， video production， design creation， cyber games and animation， research development， antique calligraphy， painting， cultural tourism， and industrial park buildings， reached RMB 47.8 billion， up 30.3 percent year on year.A superb collection of creationsCompared with the previous expos， the 5th ICCIE is the most popular and has the largest scale. It is characteristic of the expo to blend culture， creativity and technology; and many new creations made their debut at this year’s expo.According to a report from The People’s Daily Overseas Edition， more than 500 creative “Beijng presents”exhibits from all over the country made it to the stage. Among them， 30 prizewinning works， like Gold Silver Medallion with Beijing new 16 sceneries， and blue and white porcelain， appeared for the first time. “I’ve been living in Beijing for three years. Viewing these‘presents’， I still get the feeling of Beijing culture just like when I first came here，” a foreigner gave his praise.In addition， there was a group of arts and crafts some of which from the list of national intangible cultural heritages， like the Mianzhu New Year paintings and Luzhou oiled paper umbrellas from Sichuan， Thangka from Tibet， Raoyang ethnic musical instruments from Hebei， glassware and clay figures from Beijing， paintings and wood carvings form Shanxi， and many others. These works， as a national cultural symbol， are manifestations of the Chinese people’s aesthetic affection and cultural creativity. There were also some foreign crafts， like Malaysia tins， Burma jadeite， etc.Introducing a win-win concept into modern Chinese culture is a significant part of breeding China’s cultural industry， Long Yongtu said at the summit forum of the expo. He added that respecting other countries also plays an important role in developing comprehensive culture. This year， 26 international institutions， and over 600 foreigners from 63 governmental and professional delegations from 39 countries and districts attended the expo， hitting a record high. At the projects promotion conference of the cultural creative industry， projects like the China-Korea cooperation in animation and the multi-media corridor in Malaysia， were very appealing to domestic enterprises.Culture mixed with technologyAs the core of soft power， culture is also the soul of cultural industry. “If Beijing is to become a real global city， it should not solely depend on economic development and prosperity. Instead it must have the culture power to influence the world，”said Long Yongtu. During the expo， over 10 districts and counties in Beijing gathered to showcase Beijing’s cultural creativity through a variety of colorful activities by making full use of their history and culture， and combining it with modern technology.At the Dongcheng District exhibition area， a map of the central axis of Beijing was rather striking. Using LED lights， the map， which was 16.5 meters long， displayed the historical sites along the axis from Yongdingmen to the Bell and Drum Tower， including the Temple of Heaven， the Imperial Palace， and the Lama Temple. Thus， the audience could enjoy a panorama of the imperial city. Using modern technology， the old Beijing culture was vividly expressed along with a video of the historical sites.There were other thoughtful surprises as well. A touchscreen allowed you to view the history of historical and cultural resources in the districts; across the space-time tunnel， you could enjoy the rolling waves of the Yongding River， the unlimited poetic feeling of Morning Moon Over Marco Polo Bridge…At the Beijing exhibition area， creativity， technology and Beijing’s various cultures blended well with each other.Design everywhereThe Jiugong cellphone for the blind， designed by the Shanghai institute of China Telecom， allowed the disabled to enjoy communication with modern technology. Using video calls， the blind could get remote assistance.Hanwang Technology Co.， Ltd. displayed its LCD screen which combines advanced drawing board technology with an LCD. Consumers can easily draw on the screen， just as comfortably as on paper.“Design creativity is the pillar of production services and cultural creative industry. Directly contributing to the industrialization of technological achievements and serving enterprises’independent innovation， it is a great tool in the realization of industrial restructuring and the transformation of economic development. Nowadays with the homogenization of several technologies， a sense of creativity and design ability is becoming the key for business innovation，” said Liu Mingjian， Chairman of Hanwang Technology.“Only independent innovation and brand building can facilitate the transformation from ‘made in China’ into‘created in China’，” said an official from the China Gift Industry Association.
