The 18th Hangzhou Cultural & Creative Expo opens on Oct 17. [Photo provided to ehangzhou.gov.cn]

The 18th Hangzhou Cultural & Creative Expo opened on Oct 17, promising a five-day citywide cultural celebration.

This year's expo has expanded dramatically, with the main venue now covering 65,000 square meters and welcoming over 280,000 visitors — a leap from the inaugural event in 2007, which hosted 30,000 attendees across just 10,000 square meters.

The expo attracted participants from 68 countries and regions, featuring over 5,500 cultural brands, including more than 550 international names, 70 percent of which are making their first appearance at the event. 

Hangzhou's cultural industry has witnessed rapid growth in the past decade. Official figures show that the added value of the city's cultural industry expanded from 100 billion yuan ($14.04 billion) in 2016 to 200 billion yuan in 2020 before swelling to over 300 billion yuan last year.

The annual average growth rate of the city's cultural industry far outstripped that of its GDP, of which it accounts for 16 percent.