China's eastern coastal city of Qingdao was designated by the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) to join its Creative Cities Network (UCCN) as a "City of Film" on Nov 1, joining 13 other cities around the world.

Lying on the south coast of the Shandong Peninsula, Qingdao is a city of picturesque red-tiled roofs nestled between green hills and blue sea. [Photo/ qtv.com.cn]

The UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation between cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development, highlighting seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music and Media Arts.

Three other Chinese cities also joined the UCCN this year, namely Changsha (media arts), Macao Special Administrative Region (gastronomy), and Wuhan (design).

The four Chinese cities were picked for their efforts in developing and exchanging the best innovative practices to promote creative industries, strengthen participation in cultural life and integrate culture into sustainable urban development policies, according to the UNESCO.

The Qingdao government hosts a Film Cities Summit of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) from June 6 to 8 to brainstorm ideas and cheer for Qingdao being named a UNESCO City of Film. [Photo by Zhou Guanghui/people.com.cn]

The Qingdao government put forward the idea of applying to become a UNESCO City of Film in 2015, in a bid to enhance the city's creative potential for sustainable urban development through exchanging know-how and cooperating on an international level.

 

Qingdao is home to the world's largest film studio, the $8.2 billion Oriental Movie Metropolis, built along the city's West Coast New Area, which combines film and television production and a theme park. [Photo/qing5.com]