If We Don't Pay Attention, Luoyang Will Miss This Development Opportunity

Author: Lu Yongqi

The construction of Luoyang's sub-center has already begun, covering Sanmenxia, Jiyuan, and Pingdingshan. For Luoyang, how to create its own growth pole and drive the surrounding brother cities to common prosperity is particularly important. Luoyang needs pillar industries that can generate a large number of jobs and strengthen ties with the brother cities of the sub-center.

Luoyang's greatest advantage is its rich cultural resources, which are a gift from our ancestors. Few cities have such strong cultural advantages. Luoyang is now vigorously developing its cultural tourism, which is correct. But it is not enough. On the basis of developing cultural tourism, more attention should be paid to the development of the cultural and creative industries.

First, the integrated development of cultural tourism and tourism has a low ceiling in the industry. A city sub-center must aim to be a huge economy. Relying solely on cultural tourism, even if done well, can hardly support the rapid development of the entire sub-center. Second, the number of jobs and manufacturing it drives is relatively limited, meaning the social benefits are less than those of manufacturing. Third, the consumption frequency of cultural tourism is too low, and it is constrained by many natural factors, such as cold weather—no matter how good the scenery in Luoyang, few people will visit—or the recent pandemic that almost halted Luoyang's cultural tourism.

On October 22, 2020, the national intangible cultural heritage and century-old brand "Zhu Bingren Copper" received 80 million yuan in Series A funding. Projects like Zhu Bingren Copper in Luoyang and its surrounding areas, the author can count more than a handful. However, Luoyang's projects have not attracted capital's attention. Where does the gap lie? Mainly in mindset. Given the current situation, Luoyang has paid considerable attention to cultural tourism, but not enough to cultural and creative industries.

The core issue is mindset. Many people place cultural and creative industries under cultural tourism, considering them a subsidiary or parallel industry to cultural tourism. Thus, there is a lack of overall understanding of cultural and creative industries, and therefore a lack of support for this sector.

Take Luoyang's Laojun Mountain as an example. Last year, its revenue was about 160 million yuan, while the annual output value of Suzhou embroidery in one town in Suzhou is nearly 1 billion yuan, driving nearly 20,000 jobs. In terms of economic and social benefits, scenic spots like Laojun Mountain can hardly compete. Therefore, cultural and creative industries should stand on their own, not be attached to cultural tourism. Cultural tourism should be just a process or means; the goal is to leverage cultural tourism advantages to build and strengthen the cultural and creative industries.

Take the Palace Museum again: ticket revenue is roughly half of its cultural and creative revenue. This fully demonstrates the economic benefits that cultural and creative industries can generate. More importantly, what about the social benefits? How many jobs can a scenic spot drive, and how many jobs can a good cultural and creative enterprise drive?

Cultural and creative industries are themselves manufacturing, capable of carrying a large number of jobs. Take the Longmen Grottoes as an example: how many staff are inside the scenic area? How many people are employed in the surrounding restaurants and shops? The author has not investigated the specific numbers, but they are certainly less than the social benefits brought by a manufacturing enterprise with an annual output value of 1.5 billion yuan.

Although Laojun Mountain has developed well, how many local residents have truly benefited? Perhaps the scenic area staff have jobs, and local government tax revenue has increased, but it would be better to provide more ordinary people with suitable jobs.

Moreover, ticket revenue does not conflict with cultural and creative revenue. It does not mean that if the Longmen Grottoes do well in cultural and creative products, tourists will stop buying tickets, stop eating nearby, or stop shopping nearby. Therefore, from the perspective of economic and social benefits, cultural and creative industries should stand on their own, not be attached to cultural tourism. Cultural tourism should be just a process or means; the goal is to leverage cultural tourism advantages to build and strengthen the cultural and creative industries.

With cultural tourism as the means and cultural and creative industries as the goal, we need to adjust the focus of our cultural tourism projects' operation, promotion, and government policies. First is brand building. Scenic spots and culture themselves are irreplaceable, so their inherent advantages are core. However, as market-oriented products, brand should come first for cultural and creative industries.

1. Build the Greater Luoyang Brand

On the basis of Greater Luoyang, use great landscapes and great culture to drive a great brand.

First is Greater Luoyang tourism. As one of the few true ancient capitals in China (in my mind, the only ancient capitals are Xi'an, Luoyang, and Beijing; Kaifeng can only be considered the capital of a separatist regime, as those who built capitals there did not achieve unification. Anyang's value lies in the Yin Ruins, but the Shang Dynasty frequently moved capitals, and China had not yet achieved unification at that time. Historical records indicate unification began with the Zhou Dynasty's enfeoffment system; other places are nothing more than local regimes—they can be called ancient capitals but not capitals of a unified China, the capital of the entire nation). Luoyang itself already enjoys high fame. It is entirely possible to promote Luoyang as a brand to the outside world.

Great landscapes mainly include Longmen Grottoes, White Horse Temple, Laojun Mountain, Longtan Grand Canyon, and other famous scenic spots as representatives of the Luoyang brand. Great culture includes Tang tri-colored pottery, grotto culture, peonies, Ru porcelain, purple clay, Chengni inkstone, etc., as cultural representatives of the Luoyang area.

Use these to enrich the Luoyang brand, which has both natural landscapes and cultural heritage, both appreciation value and practical and collection value. Driven by this big brand, more people will understand, recognize, and love Luoyang from all aspects.

As a benchmark enterprise in Luoyang scenic area operations, Laojun Mountain Cultural Tourism Group took 11 years since its establishment. In 2019, Laojun Mountain's revenue reached 160 million yuan, which is a very good score. But if we subtract the huge investment in construction and various marketing expenses, what is the actual profit? (Since Laojun Mountain is not a listed company, there is no accurate data.)

In contrast, the Palace Museum's cultural and creative revenue reached 1.5 billion yuan in 2017, roughly twice its ticket revenue. If one says that the Palace Museum, as the imperial palace of China, inherently possesses high fame and cultural charm that many places cannot replicate, that does not mean it is impossible for Luoyang.

Luoyang itself is rich in tourism resources, and its cultural resources are equally impressive. If the construction of Luoyang's sub-center can mobilize the cultural resources of Sanmenxia, Pingdingshan, and other places, it can first turn Luoyang into a cultural and creative base for the city sub-center. Manage Luoyang as a brand with its own cultural and creative attributes: "Made in Luoyang, must be excellent."

First, we should sort out resources.

Ten years ago, the author discussed the development of Sanyuan products with Mr. Zheng Zemin of Sanyuan Foods. Mr. Zheng told the author that they had sent people across the country to find snacks suitable for quick freezing.

Luoyang should do the same. It can set up an expert team to first go to Luoyang and its surrounding areas (including Sanmenxia, Pingdingshan, Jiyuan) to collect cultural products suitable for marketization, such as Ru porcelain, floral porcelain, Chengni inkstone, purple clay teapots, etc. Clarify the unique cultural characteristics and current status of each product, and categorize them to see which are suitable for market-oriented large-scale operations.

Members of the expert team can include university professors, cultural researchers, successful entrepreneurs, branding professionals, government officials, and market sales personnel. Together, they should go to the grassroots and surrounding areas to take stock, then summarize and categorize to find the most suitable cultural and creative brands.

Second, do a good job with training.

Most cultural and creative products are national or provincial intangible cultural heritage items. These inheritors are either older or have outdated mindsets that cannot keep up with the times. Training is crucial. At the same time, mindsets must change; without a change in mindset, no matter how good the product, it will not succeed. Second, methods must change—learn modern business strategies and communication strategies.

Currently, many intangible cultural heritage projects in Henan are still in the form of small workshops. Therefore, the government should organize trips for them to study and train. A training base can be established in Luoyang. On one hand, it can change their mindsets; on the other hand, during the training process, they can exchange ideas and discover their own problems. This process also increases the craftsmen's recognition and emotional connection to Luoyang.

Not long ago, some intangible cultural heritage inheritors from Henan went to Tsinghua University in Beijing for the "China Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritors Research and Training Class." Luoyang can invite these people to conduct training in Luoyang. In addition to cultural aspects, they may also need training in investment and financing, business management, and market management. Luoyang could even cooperate with Tsinghua University or companies like JD.com and Alibaba for joint training. Let them know that whatever they need, Luoyang has it.

Then policy guidance.

For example, establish industrial parks. There is already a Ru porcelain town in Ruzhou, but Ruzhou's scale makes it difficult to truly realize the value of Ru porcelain. It is entirely possible to produce in Ruzhou while establishing marketing, market, and design centers in Luoyang.

Establish an industrial park for high-quality cultural products from various places to settle in, while using policy advantages to attract supporting enterprises such as brand packaging, design processing, advertising logistics, channel expansion, and investment and financing. Build a Luoyang Cultural Products Museum to present these cultural treasures as authentically as possible to tourists. At the same time, cultivate good design enterprises, training companies, marketing companies, etc., to form a true cultural and creative industrial park, not an empty shell or a real estate project.

Cultural and creative industries are a large industrial cluster. The core is cultural and creative products, but surrounding enterprises should also be supported and encouraged. Build a number of high-quality enterprises in brand planning, brand communication, cultural and creative design, and cultural and creative sales.

But good products alone are not enough. We also need to deepen the historical and cultural excavation of good products, and there must be service enterprises around to support cultural and creative products. Only then can Luoyang build a cultural and creative industry base for Henan or the Central Plains region.

This base can serve not only the cultural treasures around Luoyang or Henan but also radiate to the Central Plains region and even the whole of China. With good products, good packaging, and good promotion, Luoyang's cultural and creative industries will certainly carve out their own space.

Finally, leverage Luoyang's advantages.

Although Luoyang's location is not top-notch, it is not bad. Can we let people passing through Luoyang see Luoyang's beautiful scenery, culture, and cultural and creative products?

Every time the author goes to Zhengzhou, I receive a text message saying "Welcome to Zhengzhou." I think every person passing through Luoyang should also receive such a message, or see outdoor advertisements in other forms. In short, do not let any person passing through Luoyang go unnoticed.

In 2019, Luoyang received 140 million tourists. If we can make these tourists understand Luoyang and Luoyang's cultural and creative products at every corner and in every gesture, it will surely bring huge economic and brand benefits.

Zhu Bingren Copper's financing is just a start, and also a wake-up call. It tells us that the revival of culture is coming. Whether it is the Palace Museum's cultural and creative products or Zhu Bingren Copper, they are exploring and leading. However, as more and more local governments begin to pay attention and learn, I believe that starting from these individual events, there will be a large number of high-quality enterprises in China's cultural and creative field in the future. Just like manufacturing, after the swordsmanship competition, the rankings have been set.

The Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta will certainly be important manufacturing centers in the future. It is almost impossible for inland areas to compete with them, of course due to historical and regional reasons. But at the beginning of the cultural and creative field, Luoyang has unique advantages in history and region. This opportunity must not be missed. If we miss it and later, after the swordsmanship competition in the cultural and creative field has already taken seats and rankings, we try to catch up, I think it will be extremely difficult. So this is also a wake-up call, hoping to wake us up and accelerate our progress.

To be continued! To be continued! To be continued!