ABSTRACT
As a coastal city full of creative vitality, Qingdao is recognized by UNESCO as China’s first City of Film, which is undoubtedly a milestone in the history of Chinese film development. The slogan “Qingdao, a city born for film” strongly reflects the relationship between Qingdao and film: from Qingdao’s “natural environmental” studios, its Oriental Movie Metropolis, to the world City of Film. This highlights Qingdao’s initiative to seize the opportunities of the times and position itself in a global strategic plan, for the realization of the “Chinese Dream” for an “Oriental Hollywood.” This chapter starts with the functions and role of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN) and analyzes why Qingdao became a City of Film from the following three perspectives: cultural attributes, cultural industries and urban advantages. The chapter also looks back at the history of Qingdao’s application to be a world City of Film, which demonstrates the foresight, wisdom and strength of Qingdao’s efforts to become an international film hub. The success of Qingdao’s application took advantage of its excellent natural environment, historic film culture, talented professionals and strong support from the booming film industry. The title of world “City of Film” is a new starting point for the Qingdao film industry and the cultural and creative industries. Joining the global creative city network and attracting global creative resources, will accelerate the development of Qingdao’s film and television industry.
