A media group conducting research on Guangzhou's high-quality development recently visited enterprises in Tianhe district, observing how the district gives play to its industrial advantages and explores the "Tianhe Model" for its digital services sector.

Frontop, a digital creative services provider based in Tianhe, designed the "digital treasure pavilion", which allows visitors to get a closer look at the cultural relics in the Guangzhou branch of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture. It is one of Tianhe's many digital creative enterprises, and it contributes to the development of the district's cultural industry.

Tianhe is bathed in sunlight. [Photo by Chi Guangsheng/WeChat account: tianhefabu]

Being one of Tianhe's leading industries, the cultural industry has formed a general development pattern that is led by emerging cultural and creative industries such as gaming and animation, digital creativity, digital music, and e-sports. This new development pattern is supplemented by the traditional culture and entertainment industries, including the performing arts, film and television, and publishing.

By the end of 2022, Tianhe recorded 913 legal entities above the designated size in the cultural industry, with an operation revenue of 201.75 billion yuan ($29.24 billion). The district is also the largest gathering place for the gaming industry in China, with the district's industry's revenue accounting for about 40 percent of the country's total.

As one of the pilot industrial parks for the metaverse in Tianhe, the Tangxia Zhihui Park has built the Tianhe digital creative industry innovation incubation base. Zhang Yuxiang, vice general manager of Zhihui Group, the operating entity of the park, stated that the park also created an industrial gaming e-sports ecology by integrating event hosting, content production, entertainment experiences, talent training sessions, investments, and trading.

High-rises stand tall across Tianhe. [Photo by Chi Guangsheng/WeChat account: tianhefabu]

There are now nearly 100 enterprises in the park, Zhang added. Most of them are digital service enterprises in the fields of e-commerce, software information technology, and gaming and animation.

"Technology and digital services are developing rapidly in Tianhe," said a director at Mobvista, a digital service company based in Tianhe. "Supporting business facilities are also operating in line with international standards. The innovative industrial resources and excellent infrastructure here provide important support for enterprises and assist in attracting talents."

In addition, Tianhe has been promoting the development of "digital +", advancing the digital transformation of traditional industries like tourism, industrial design, and medical care.

ZWSOFT (Guangzhou), engaged in design and R&D of industrial software, is one of the representative growing enterprises in digital services. It began exporting its software products in 2004, and these products are now being used in over 90 countries and regions around the world. It has set up R&D centers in places like Beijing, Shanghai, and Florida in the United States.