Research On Urban Distribution Pattern And Optimization Strategy Of China Animation Industry

With the release of the "14th Five Year Plan" for the Development of Cultural Industry,the animation industry has received more and more attention from the government.As a subdivision of the cultural industry that most closely matches the Digital transformation,the animation industry has become an important part of the cultural industry’s Digital transformation.The animation industry has certain externality.On the one hand,the prosperity of the animation industry can drive the development of derivative industries such as games,cultural and creative industries,and even improve the image of the city in external publicity;On the other hand,the development of the animation industry itself requires policy support.Therefore,governments at all levels have also invested a large amount of resources to support its development,in order to improve the quality and efficiency of the animation industry,and thereby promote the development of the entire industry chain.However,the rapid development of emerging industries often accompanies the problem of unbalanced regional development.Existing research on the animation industry lacks research granularity based on cities.This article endeavors to investigate the urban spread of China’s animation sector and proffer policy proposals to foster regional,unified growth of the animation industry on a city-level research scale.Based on the difficulty of obtaining data on the output value of the animation industry and its broad scope,in this paper,animation(TV animation,animated films)and comics(newspapers,books),the two most important forms of expression of the animation industry,are comprehensively considered in the context of the Digital transformation of the cultural industry,the forms of expression of film and television animation can better adapt to the development of the times,and combine advanced technologies such as 5G,AR,VR,and the metauniverse to drive the development of the animation industry.Therefore,film and television animation is finally selected as the specific research object of the animation industry.And this study selects film and television animation as the specific research object and uses the total production volume of national film and television animation works produced between 2015 and 2021 as research data.The concentration measurement method is used to visually observe and analyze the concentration of head cities in the animation industry.Furthermore,using Dagum’s Gini coefficient,the study analyzes the development differences of the animation industry across the whole country,regions,and within regions in four major regions and six major city clusters.The study also uses the polarization method to analyze the polarization phenomena of the animation industry more comprehensively and accurately and explore the main causes of the differences in regional development of the animation industry.The results demonstrate that:(1)the animation industry in China is predominantly concentrated in cities and regions with a high level of economic development.This development is in direct correlation to the city’s economic,cultural,talent,and business atmosphere.(2)There are significant differences in the development of the animation industry among different regions and city clusters in China,and the differences between regions/city clusters are significantly higher than those within regions/city clusters.Significant disparities in development exist between the eastern and northeastern areas,as well as between the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei City Cluster and the Chengdu-Chongqing City Cluster.The Yangtze River Delta City Cluster and the eastern region have a fairly even development,whereas the western region and Central China City Cluster have a comparatively high divergence.However,in recent years,the development differences between regions and city clusters have shown a decreasing trend overall.(3)Polarization of the animation industry nationwide is significant,and in terms of television animation,it is higher than that of animated films at the national level.Meanwhile,at the level of the six major city clusters,the polarization degree of animated films is higher than that of television animation,and the ER index has been close to 1 for many years.(4)Animation industry development has externalities and is deeply affected by local government policy support.Cities with highly developed animation industries such as Beijing,Shanghai,Guangzhou,and Chengdu have continued to support the animation industry through effective policies,hosting large-scale animation exhibitions,and expanding their city’s influence.Based on the above findings,this article proposes the following recommendations:(1)Adhere to the government’s guiding role,strengthen the formulation of industry policies,improve animation market allocation,and ensure the healthy development of the animation industry.(2)Give full play to urban advantages,form differentiated animation brand industrial chains,scientifically cultivate animation industry regions to create brand effects,and enhance core competitiveness and sustainable development.(3)Strengthen the construction of basic resources and investment and financing systems,provide strong economic backing for small and medium-sized animation enterprises,and retain sustainable development of animation industry talents.(4)Promote cooperation and coordination among cities,forming an advantageous complementary,closely assisted,and mutually stimulating industrial pattern,promoting regional coordinated development of the animation industry.