Big-scale productions at historic and scenic sites attract major investments

Cultural performance investment in Chinese tourist destinations has become popular among private investors, financial experts say.

Leading private equity firm China Science and Merchants Capital Management Co Ltd regards cultural performance investment as its new focus, with funding recently taking place in Shaoshan.

"We will pay more attention to investing in the cultural sector to seize the large market," said Shan Xiangshuang, CSM's chairman.

The firm has invested 600 million yuan ($96 million) in the Red Culture Tourism Group in Shaoshan, Hunan province.

Shaoshan is the hometown of Mao Zedong, former leader of the Communist Party of China, and it attracted an estimated 10 million tourists last year.

The theatrical production, which is based on Mao's life, features many high-end touches in terms of technology, theatrical effects, stage and equipment.

"We will invest 5 billion yuan with other investors in the cultural base of Shaoshan, and the annual revenue may be more than 1 billion yuan," Shan.

Shan told China Daily that they will invest more than 600 million yuan in another production in Shenzhen, China's first special economic zone.

The topic will be Deng Xiaoping, a reformist leader in China. In 1992, Deng toured southern China to reassert reform and the opening-up policy.

Another theatrical production will be developed in Shanghai, depicting the history of the city from 1843, when it was open to foreign trade.

A detailed timetable of the performances will be released later.

"Investment in the cultural sector, especially assessing something as abstract as performance, is at its very early stages in this country, and we want to be the first," added Xu Xiang, head of the Southwest China region at Shenzhen Capital Group Co Ltd.

In 2013, the private equity firm invested 30 million yuan in Kunming-based Yang Liping Arts & Culture Ltd, for a 30 percent stake in the business.

"As China has a large number of tourists, performance in popular tourism cities can be quite successful," said Duan Shaoxian, general manager of the Beijing branch of the Yang Liping company, adding that they are stepping up to improve marketing and cooperating with travel agencies.

Compared with indoor performances, outdoor ones can be more profitable because they can be included in the price of tickets to scenic spots, can seat more visitors and can include more daily performances, said Duan.

Duan added that a challenge for productions at seasonal tourist sites is that they may not attract many customers in the off-season.

In December 2010, Yunfeng Capital announced an investment of $50 million in Beijing-based Impression Inc, a company founded by three famous movie directors and production designers-Zhang Yimou, Wang Chaoge and Fan Yue-that is dedicated to creating, producing and managing large outdoor productions.

Its outdoor shows reflect local views and traditions in the tourism cities of Guilin, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region; Lijiang in Yunnan province; Hangzhou and Putuo in Zhejiang province; Haikou in Hainan province; and Wuyishan in Fujian province.

Profits from the show in Guilin between 2010 and 2012 totaled more than 234.6 million yuan, according to the National Business Daily.

caixiao@chinadaily.com.cn