Voice of China, Haikou, January 10 (Reporter Fu Meibin) "Accelerate the construction of an 'International Performing Arts Capital', striving to launch multiple boutique theater performances every week, one large-scale concert every week, and one international concert every month." On January 10, Ding Hui, Mayor of Haikou, stated this while delivering the government work report at the opening session of the 5th Meeting of the 17th Haikou Municipal People's Congress. He emphasized that Haikou will strengthen cultural protection and inheritance to build a high-quality cultural strong city.
The government work report highlights the need to uphold cultural confidence, strengthen the protection and utilization of cultural heritage, cultivate cultural and tourism brands with Free Trade Port connotations, promote the development of cultural tourism, and enhance the soft power of the modern and international new Haikou.
Wang Ke, Director of Haikou Municipal Bureau of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports, introduced that in recent years, Haikou has focused on the goal of building an international tourism consumption center, positioned cultural empowerment, and committed to creating Haikou into an "Annual Countdown City and Performing Arts Capital" with international characteristics. Since 2023, Haikou has introduced 27 large-scale concerts and music festivals, attracting 600,000 audience visits, with a total consumption of approximately 3.3 billion yuan from spectators and tourists. On September 15 and 28, 2024, the Kanye West World Tour Audition was successfully held at Haikou Wuyuanhe Stadium, attracting global fans. About 80,000 fans attended, with 95% from outside the province, driving 730 million yuan in tourism consumption. On December 31, 2024, the Hunan Satellite TV New Year's Eve Gala was held in Haikou for the fourth time. That night, 17 unique New Year's Eve events were held across the city, with 850,000 citizens and tourists participating in the countdown activities. "Haikou is emulating other world-renowned performing arts cities with a highly open and inclusive attitude."
"Haikou has significant advantages in geographical location and infrastructure to leverage the leading role of performing arts and event economy," Wang Ke said. Located in the central region of Asia, Haikou is only a 1-2 hour flight from many Asian countries, enjoying a unique geographical location. Currently, Haikou has opened 31 international direct flight routes, with the Haikou-Hong Kong route increased to 25 flights per week. Haikou can quickly transfer via Hong Kong, utilizing Hong Kong's international shipping hub advantages to achieve convenient navigation with major cities worldwide. In terms of performing arts infrastructure, Haikou currently has two venues suitable for large-scale performances and sports events, including the Wuyuanhe Stadium (with a maximum capacity of 45,000 spectators) and the newly completed Wuyuanhe Gymnasium (accommodating 18,000 spectators), one of the most advanced gymnasiums in China. High-level facilities have attracted the attention of domestic and international event organizers and top performing arts companies.
Wang Ke introduced that the construction of Haikou's "Performing Arts Capital" has also received strong policy support at the national, provincial, and municipal levels. The preferential policies of Hainan Free Trade Port have created a relaxed and convenient environment for the development of Haikou's cultural and performing arts industry; the provincial Party committee and government's strategy of building a cultural strong province have provided a solid foundation for Haikou to build a "Performing Arts Capital"; the good coordination mechanism among relevant municipal departments has provided more convenient approval and landing services for performance organizers; and the Haikou Tourism, Culture and Sports Industry Federation has coordinated market entities of "food, accommodation, travel, tourism, shopping, and entertainment" to create a city-wide "fan-friendly" urban marketing collaboration system.
Wang Ke revealed that in 2025, the Haikou Municipal Bureau of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports will further strengthen the in-depth integrated development of "culture-tourism + performing arts, sports, and conventions", continuing to attract domestic and international renowned artists' concerts and music festivals such as Dao Lang, Travis Scott, Cardi B, and the Water-Sprinkling Music Festival, as well as international famous)sports events like beach sports, water sports, and the WTT Table Tennis Finals. Meanwhile, targeting the traditional summer "low season", it will targeted investment large-scale national youth cultural and sports activities such as the "Cao Can Cup" and "Boya Cup" with a scale of ten thousand people to land in Haikou, continuously igniting the yearning of national fans and teenagers for Haikou, a "charming city" full of unique island culture.