The Xiamen booth at the previous fair. [Photo provided to swj.xm.gov.cn]

The 17th Cross-Strait (Xiamen) Cultural Industries Fair will run from Oct 29 to Nov 1 in Xiamen, as announced at a press conference in Fuzhou on Oct 21.

More than 1,000 institutions from home and abroad will take part online and offline, representing 11 countries and 20 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.

The main venue at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center will cover 60,000 square meters, with a comprehensive cultural industries zone and five themed areas: Fujian-Taiwan cultural exchange, intangible cultural heritage, youth creative design, technology plus tourism, and cross-Strait cultural tourism consumption.

Another 20 cultural parks and tourism landmarks across Xiamen will serve as sub-venues, hosting more than 100 events over a month, including creative markets, art pop-ups, and heritage workshops, to bring the fair to the whole city.

A new online platform will offer news, virtual tours and interactive rewards, with around 1,000 cultural products on display year-round.

The fair will showcase nearly 1,000 intangible cultural heritage items from more than 10 countries, and will expand its ticket-linked promotions to cover dining, accommodation, transport, sightseeing, and shopping.

Cross-Strait integration remains a central theme. Nine themed pavilions will highlight shared cultural heritage, while 62 universities from both sides will participate in creative design exchanges and 24 themed events, including sessions on emerging fields such as AI-generated comics.