Published by ChinaMNC · Luhe

Shanwei Leaders Meet Culture Forum Delegates: What Foreign Founders Can Learn From a City's Cultural Push

A meeting between Shanwei officials and delegates to the 2026 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and History Forum highlights how local governments link cultural heritage to development goals — a useful signal for foreign founders assessing how Chinese cities position themselves to investors.

What Happened

On the afternoon of October 28, Shanwei Party Secretary and Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee Director Lu Feng met with Yang Wenjun, Director (President) of the Research Center of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History (Chinese Poetry Research Institute) under the State Council Counsellors' Office, and his delegation. The delegation was in Shanwei to attend the 2026 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Guangdong) Culture and History Forum.

The two sides held in-depth exchanges on studying General Secretary Xi Jinping's important statements on cultural heritage protection and inheritance, deepening cooperation in culture and history research, carrying forward the "red" revolutionary lineage, and promoting the protection, inheritance and revitalization of cultural resources. Zeng Xiaohui, Chairman of the Municipal CPPCC, also attended the meeting.

Why a Culture Forum Matters to Founders

For foreign founders, meetings like this may look far removed from company registration and daily operations. In practice, they offer a window into how a Chinese city communicates its priorities. Shanwei used the forum to frame cultural resources as an economic asset — something the city wants to convert into development advantages. Understanding this framing helps founders read local government messaging and anticipate where municipal attention and support may flow.

The City's Message

Lu Feng welcomed the delegation on behalf of the municipal party committee and government and thanked the State Council Counsellors' Office, the Central Research Institute of Culture and History and the provincial institute for their long-standing support of Shanwei.

He described Shanwei's Hailufeng area as rich in revolutionary history and "red" cultural resources. He noted that the forum, held in Shanwei under the theme "Inheriting the Red Gene and Creating New Advantages for Bay Area Development," provided an important platform for the city to strengthen cultural and historical exchange and research.

Lu expressed the hope that participating experts and scholars would use their professional strengths to help Shanwei tap and utilize Hailufeng red culture, intangible cultural heritage and historical and humanistic resources; to innovate and build influential cultural brands; and to accelerate creative transformation and innovative development. He also called for stronger coordination between culture and history research, cultural inheritance and the integration of culture and tourism, and for exploring effective paths to turn cultural resource advantages into development advantages — better empowering Shanwei's high-quality development and modernization.

The Delegates' Response

Forum guests thanked the Shanwei municipal party committee and government for their attention and careful preparation. Experts and scholars said Shanwei is rich in red resources and has distinctive cultural characteristics. The forum, they said, would feature keynote speeches and interviews on inheriting the red gene and building Bay Area cultural life, and would organize field research.

The Research Center of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History and the provincial government's culture and history research institute will leverage their strengths in culture and history research and artistic creation. Together with forum activities and arrangements such as the provincial institute's sketching and painting exhibition of historical and cultural villages, they will strengthen communication and coordination with Shanwei, dig deeper into Hailufeng red cultural resources, actively promote Shanwei's cultural brands, support the city's drive to become a culturally strong city, and contribute to the cultural prosperity of the Greater Bay Area.

Site Visits and Activities

During the forum, participating experts and scholars will visit the former site memorial hall of the Red Palace and Red Square in Haifeng County and the Ketang jewelry trading market for research, and will take part in an expert interview event titled "Telling Shanwei's Mountain and Sea Stories Well in the New Era."

Also attending the meeting were relevant colleagues from the State Council Counsellors' Office and the Research Center of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History, members and experts of the provincial culture and history research institute, and municipal leader Zhou Yi.

Practical Takeaways for Foreign Founders

• Read the local narrative. Shanwei frames culture as an input to high-quality development. Founders can use such statements to understand how a city presents itself and what it wants to be known for.
• Note the sectors mentioned. The source references cultural heritage, intangible cultural heritage, tourism integration and a jewelry trading market — all areas where local government attention is visible.
• Track official visits and forums. Meetings between municipal leaders and visiting delegations are routine but publicly reported. They are a low-cost way to follow a city's priorities over time.
• Do not over-read signals. A culture forum is not an investment policy announcement. Treat it as context, not as a commitment of incentives, approvals or support for any specific business.
• Verify locally. Registration requirements, sector rules and available services should always be confirmed with the relevant local authorities or a qualified professional.

What This Does Not Tell You

The source contains no details on foreign investment rules, company registration procedures, tax treatment, incentives or timelines. It does not indicate any special treatment for foreign founders. It reports a meeting, a forum theme, planned research visits and statements of intent. Founders considering Shanwei should treat this as background on how the city talks about its development strategy and should seek current, specific guidance before making decisions.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.