The city of Zigong has been listed in a new batch of national foreign cultural trade bases by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Commerce, according to a conference held on Oct. 19 in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province.

The aim of the national foreign cultural trade bases is to play a leading and exemplary role in exploring international markets for domestic cultural and tourism businesses, and offer comprehensive services for foreign investors so as to boost China's cultural influence, the conference said.

Over the past several years, through the manufacture and export of lanterns and animatronic dinosaurs, Zigong has established partnerships with over 80 countries and regions. The export volume of cultural products in Zigong, with lanterns as the mainstay, totaled $44.06 million in 2022, up by 55.25% year on year.