In 2019 the municipal government of Beijing will focus on developing Beijing into a national cultural center, according to reports from the ongoing annual municipal people's congress and the CPPCC session.

While advancing the protection of the historical and cultural sites, improving the cultural services and forging cultural brands of the city, the government shall aim to invigorate the city culture, upgrade the urban culture and showcase its cultural image as an open, inclusive and confident capital city.

Last year, the municipal government of Beijing made steady progress in national cultural center construction and reaped great achievements in the following areas: public services, protection of the old city, the protection of the central axis and its application for a world cultural heritage, the construction of three cultural belts, the enhancement of the cultural creativity, and the display of the cultural charm of the capital.

Last year, the municipal government of Beijing put on an averaged number of 68 cultural performances and shows each day. A four-tier public facility network has been formed, the rectification of the central axis and its application for a world cultural heritage advanced and the cultural creativity invigorated.

In 2019, Beijing will further enhance its cultural confidence and focus on the construction of "one core, one city, three belts and two districts" to upgrade the city's cultural quality.

To advance the protection of the historical and cultural sites, the municipal government of Beijing shall make a central axis protection plan, which involves more than 30 key projects, such as the vacating of properties from cultural relic sites, rectification of the surroundings of the Bell and Drum Tower, and the face-lifting of the walking environment from Zhengyangmen to Yongdingmen.

Besides, the government will formulate an overall protection plan for the old city, carry out the work of vacating properties from cultural relic sites and the zoning of historical and cultural blocks, and protect hutongs and siheyuan courtyards.

To improve the cultural services, the municipal government of Beijing shall work to deliver tangible benefits to the people in 2019. It will render great support for construction of such cultural facilities as museums, libraries, cultural centers, and physical bookstores, encourage social forces to participate in public cultural services, and guide industrial transformation and development and utilize the spaces in cultural relic sites where properties of the government have been vacated, doing the best to expand the cultural and art space of the city.

In 2019, Beijing shall develop a public cultural service system demonstration zone, said Song Yu, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism. While improving the four-tier network of public cultural facilities, the cultural departments of Beijing will send books, cultural activities and performances to communities. They will try to improve the coverage of cultural facilities, improve cultural services, and strengthen the content distribution capabilities.

In terms of forging of urban cultural brands, Beijing will draw up the development program for the creative culture demonstration zone, speed up the construction of the cultural property rights trading center and promote the development of "cultural +" market entities. Meanwhile, efforts will be made to develop the heritages of time-honored brands and guidelines will be made to develop culturally distinctive towns and creative culture blocks, such as the Taihu Town of Performing Arts and Songzhuang Art and Creative Culture Town.