Fieldwork: Creative Industries

On 2nd April 2010, the Urban-Media Networks team carried out a fieldwork to find out more about the current situation of creative industries in Ningbo. The two destinations selected are Hefeng Originality Plaza (Ningbo Industrial Design and Creative Center) and Fortune Creation Harbor.
Hefeng Originality Plaza is one of the most important projects initiated by the government to promote creative industries in Ningbo. It has both financial assistance and policy support from Ningbo government. This plaza is not merely a creative cluster, but also includes a hotel, a shopping center, restaurants, and other entertainment facilities. The target clients of these establishments, as one of the staff in the Hefeng Originality Plaza said, are those regarded as middle-class with large amount of private property and relevant consumer habits, while the migrant workers constructing the plaza are absolutely excluded.
Fortune Creation Harbor, as a creative cluster, is not so successful just like other team members description. But it is a little unfair to say that it is a failure example of creative clusters for there are indeed some creative companies like advertising companies and art design centers; and it is also unfair to compare Fortune Creation Harbor with Hefeng Originality Plaza because the former one has already finished the construction, while the latter one is still on construction, and challenges sometimes emerge after construction, just like most problems appear after marriage. So it is a little early to praise Hefeng Originality Plaza, and to deny Fortune Creation Harbor as a creative cluster.