Wanda's proceeds during those seven years have proved that the cultural industry creates big value. When Wanda entered the film industry in 2005, total box office revenue in China was only around 800 million yuan, but in 2011, that figure rose to 13 billion yuan nationwide and by November this year, the number had grown to 14.3 billion yuan. Wanda Cinema Line, which has 1,000 screens in China, holds market share of 15 percent.

The cultural sector will become a "pillar" of the group, said Wang during his speech in December. The government has also identified the cultural sector as one of the pillars of Chinese industry; at a meeting in 2011, the Party's central leadership defined culture as a pillar industry and a growth business in the nation's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), and expects it to account for 5 percent of national GDP by 2016.

Polishing company image

"Wanda has played a brilliant card with culture," said Chen Hu, a cultural industry analyst at Dongxing Securities. "The move not only helped to change Wanda's image from that of just a property developer into one of a cultural products maker, but also echoes the nation's craving for soft power and global exposure."

AChangsha cinema of Wanda Group. The group has strong presence in cineplexes with IMAX screens both in the Chinese mainland and in the United States. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Wanda Cultural Industry Group's first official project will be a theme park located in Tongzhou, an eastern suburb of Beijing, which will feature film technology and entertainment. Beijing, defined as the nation's cultural center in the Party meeting, intends to further raise its cultural businesses' share of GDP from the current 12.8 percent. At the founding ceremony for Wanda's cultural group on Dec 1, Lu Wei, Beijing's deputy mayor, stood shoulder to shoulder with Wang.

"The government provides favorable policies for the use of land for cultural projects, so in this sense the Tongzhou project is a very smart move by Wanda," said senior movie producer, Wang Yu. "The company's sharp sensitivity and rich resources in the property industry, plus its extensive capital, will play critical roles in helping it to build a cultural empire."

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