According to CNR, the Artificial Intelligence Cultural and Creative Industry Base was officially inaugurated at Jinke Park in Pudong New Area recently. Jointly developed by Pudong New Area and China Literature Group, the first phase of the base spans approximately 15,000 square metres and is fully occupied at present. It is equipped with multiple industrial facilities and professional cultural spaces. This initiative represents a major step for Shanghai to implement the national "AI Plus" action plan, as well as a milestone for Pudong to fuel cultural creativity with AI and build a national benchmark "AI + Cultural Creativity" industrial project.

Accelerating the Full AIGC Industrial Chain

On the inauguration day, the base unveiled a series of phased achievements and innovative initiatives covering content platforms, creative tools, talent training and industrial collaboration, demonstrating a well-defined full-chain ecological layout.

On the content side, premium video platform Qidian Theatre made its official debut. Leveraging China Literature’s massive IP library and mature creator ecosystem, the platform focuses on two core areas: adapting online literature IPs for film and television and incubating original IPs. It covers mainstream genres including urban fiction, xianxia, sci-fi, suspense, romance and infinite stream stories. For film studios and independent creators, Qidian Theatre opens access to adaptation cooperation for more than 100,000 IPs. It also launches a three-tier incentive mechanism consisting of guaranteed payment, permanent revenue sharing and periodic rankings, delivering sustainable income for digital creative practitioners.

On the tool side, the upgraded DramaBuddy was released simultaneously. This tool builds an end-to-end premium production system spanning idea conception, content creation and project management. Its Infinite Canvas function breaks the conventional linear workflow, allowing creators to start work at any stage such as scriptwriting, storyboarding and character design. Three modules — Panoramic Director Console, Storyboard and Motion Capture Reference — work together to enable virtual studio previsualisation, multi-camera arrangement and controllable visual effects, greatly boosting creation efficiency. The Global Asset Extraction function for project management supports intelligent matching of multiple versions of characters, scenes and props, effectively cutting rework and communication costs. Combined, these functions offer a complete workflow from concept to final production for large-scale, high-quality episodic series.

(Inauguration of the Pudong AI Cultural and Creative Industry Base (Photo courtesy of the interviewee, distributed by CNR)

Two-Way Synergy Between Talent Cultivation and Industry Development

Talent underpins industrial upgrading. The base launched the "Yueying" Training Programme on site, adopting a "7+7+7" training model. Seven core courses covering scriptwriting, storyboarding, character performance and digital human training help learners master seven key capabilities. The programme aims to cultivate seven types of interdisciplinary professionals for the industry, including AIGC scriptwriters, storyboard artists, character designers, artists, prompt engineers, editors, producers and project managers. Supported by professional film companies within China Literature’s ecosystem that deliver film-grade training standards, the programme strives to bridge the gap between universities, vocational training and industry demands.

Meanwhile, official plaques were awarded to top author studios and celebrity studios. Renowned China Literature writers including Huxiao De Bi, Xue Hong, Gu Xi and Gu Zhengren attended as representatives, together with Huang Xiaoming, actor and Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Film Association. Their participation bolsters the base’s core creative capacity and strengthens its capability as a source of original IP and content. Right after the ceremony, the first training and exchange session kicked off. Participants held in-depth discussions on industry trends, talent benchmarks and career development, earning enthusiastic feedback on site.

The base houses the cultural exhibition space One Hundred Years of Painting · Shanghai Ten Thousand Frames, alongside industrial facilities including an AI comic drama workflow system, the interactive AI creation environment "Black Box", and real-time motion capture equipment. The first batch of signed tenants comprises cultural and tech enterprises such as Yihua Kaitian, Haoyi Xing, Liangwu Games and NewGen IP.

Hou Xiaonan, CEO and President of China Literature Group, noted in his speech that going forward, China Literature will cooperate with Pudong New Area to build a full-chain agglomeration for AI cultural and creative industries with three core priorities: cultivating premium works and establishing an industrial system for high-quality AI-driven cultural creations; integrating industry, academia and research to realise two-way progress in talent training and industrial growth; and pursuing global outreach — not only telling engaging Chinese stories, but also sharing industrial solutions worldwide.

"The base is exploring an innovative integrated development model of ‘IP + AI + Ecosystem’. Rooted in Pudong’s favourable industrial environment, we are confident to create a ‘Shanghai model’ for the AI cultural and creative sector."

Moving ahead, the base will fully leverage Pudong’s strengths in policy, venue resources and industrial ecosystem. Combined with China Literature’s abundant IP assets, full-stack AIGC technologies and seasoned operational experience, it will keep exploring the integrated development paradigm of "IP + AI + Ecosystem". The initiative will support Shanghai’s development into a hub for digital cultural creativity and AI innovation, delivering a replicable "Shanghai model" for the nationwide "AI + Cultural Creativity" industry.

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