Beijing bids to become more vibrant cultural hub

The number of cultural facilities in Beijing is set to keep growing. In the future, there are plans to have a cinema every 2 kilometers and reading spaces not more than a 15-minute walk away. There are currently 149 theaters, 163 museums, 260 cinemas, about 1,300 bookstores and 5,800 public libraries in the city, said Zhao Weidong, deputy head of the publicity department of the Beijing Committee of the Communist Party of China, at the event.

The aim is to increase people's access to the cultural sector, he said. Major cultural projects under way include the application for Beijing's central axis－which originally ran from Yongdingmen Gate Tower to the Drum and Bell Towers－to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, construction of national cultural parks based on the Grand Canal and the Great Wall, cultural programs along the Yongding River, a Universal Studios theme park in the city's Tongzhou district and cultural heritage protection in the Nanhaizi area of southern Beijing.