An aerial view of downtown Shenzhen. [Xinhua]

Shenzhen, China's pioneering city in reform and opening up in Guangdong Province, was presented the City of Design award by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Monday.

It became the 16th member of UNESCO's Creative City Network, and the first city in China to be presented with such an award.

"Shenzhen, a city rich in innovation and originality, began its creative path 28 years ago, when China's first special economic zone was established here," Xu Zongheng, the mayor, said on Sunday.

"The design and innovation industry has become one of the four pillars of Shenzhen's economy.

"For example, nearly 80 percent of artificial Christmas trees sold worldwide come from Shenzhen," Xu said.

The city has more than 6,000 design companies and 60,000 designers.

The city's cultural industry added value was 46 billion yuan (US$6.76 billion) last year, accounting for 6.8 percent of its GDP, Xu said.

Zhang Xinsheng, vice minister of education at the press conference said on Monday: "The design business has a close relationship with the added value of the city's products.

"I hope this award will help the city move from a production center to a design center as the global economic downturn presents new challenges to what has been our traditional growth pattern," Zhang said.

In September, Shenzhen devised a plan to become a national innovation city by 2015.

The plan calls for more than 5.5 percent of the GDP to be spent on scientific research.

The southern boomtown has already implemented a plan for the construction of eight industrial zones to ensure future development.

It includes innovative financing, modern logistics, information networks, service outsourcing and creative design companies.

(China Daily December 10, 2008)