Altogether 26 key cultural infrastructure projects are slated for completion in the next five years in this capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, the Municipal Development Planning Commission said.

The projects, including the Guangdong Provincial Museum and the new Guangzhou Library, already have municipal government approval.

With as much as 10.7 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) to be invested, the projects would better promote the city's culture and development, planners say.

Guangzhou residents used to be described as a bit too money-orientated while showing less interest in non-profit and public affairs compared with people in other major cities. But as living standard has become better, needs for cultural and social life have become more urgent on the city's agenda.

The municipality's leaders have already set up goals to make the city more cultural, speeding up infrastructure development projects like the museum and the library.

In the past eight years, investment of 2 billion yuan (US$240 million) in infrastructure construction has gone into the Xinghai Music Concert Hall and the Guangdong Museum of Arts.

At present, the city boasts 15 public libraries, 18 publishing companies, eight radio stations, five TV stations, 25 museums and memorials, as well as a number of other structures.

Yet the current number of cultural projects completed is still small, harming the city's image and development, officials said.

For instance, the book-storage area in the Guangzhou Library, established in 1982, covers only 16,000 square meters and cannot satisfy the public's need.

A new Guangzhou Library, to be located in the new Pearl River Town, is expected to cover an area of 80,000 square meters.

With estimated investment totaling 840 million yuan (US$102 million), it will boast 4 million books and be the center of files, education and culture, library-management science, and information development for the public.

(China Daily April 5, 2004)