The Yunnan provincial government is actively implementing the central leadership's directives and the provincial committee's requirements to deepen public reading efforts. It is strategically managing funds and optimizing resource allocation. Since the start of 2025, it has allocated 354 million yuan to support the development of reading infrastructure and the public cultural service system, aiming to establish a new, inclusive, and equitable pattern of reading across the region.

Prioritizing Foundational Services to Develop Integrated Reading Spaces

In strict adherence to the regulations promoting public reading, funding for these initiatives has been incorporated into the fiscal budget. Subsidies for building the public cultural service system are being used to support cultural activities like reading newspapers and books, with a particular focus on grassroots communities, border areas, and rural regions. Efforts are underway to deeply integrate reading services with tourism and residential settings. Support is provided for the regular operations of 151 public libraries and 1,462 township (street) cultural centers across the province, while also enhancing the quality and efficiency of integrated cultural institutions in towns and villages. The initiative includes creating 100 modular mobile libraries dubbed "Travel & Read Spaces," allowing cultural enrichment to blend seamlessly with tourism experiences. This strengthens a comprehensive reading network that covers urban and rural areas, extends to the grassroots, and integrates culture with tourism.

Strengthening Content Supply to Fortify Cultural Confidence

Financial funds are being leveraged to guide and incentivize cultural development. A funding chain characterized by "specialized guidance, foundational support, and targeted focus" has been established through various channels: basic funding from the public cultural service system, benchmark-setting support from funds for outstanding artistic works, and classic-forging initiatives like the Yunnan Edition Excellence Project. Special funds for creating high-quality literary works have been allocated to support the publication of excellent novels, reportage, documentary literature, poetry, and essay collections. Rewards are given to works that have won prestigious awards like the Mao Dun Literature Prize and the Lu Xun Literature Prize for their outstanding portrayal of Yunnan's culture. This drives a deep integration between public reading, the promotion of Yunnan's excellent traditional and ethnic cultures, and the enhancement of the province's external image. Support has been provided for publishing a series of achievements from the "Yunnan Library" classic compilation project and a batch of high-quality Yunnan publications such as "Where the Heart Lies: A Life Called Yunnan," "The Ladder to the Clouds," and "The Bugle," several of which have been included in national recommendation lists. The supply of key books, including red classics, children's literature, and agricultural technology texts, is being continuously optimized to solidify cultural strongholds for the new era.

Embracing Digital Reading to Adapt to New Trends

Backed by financial guarantees, continuous progress is being made in developing the smart library system and the public cultural cloud platform, including supporting the platform's construction and the upgrade of the provincial smart library platform. By continually improving online reading service functions and integrating quality content such as digital resources, audiobooks, and thematic materials, the public cultural cloud platform released over 83,900 pieces of information throughout the year, with online service visits exceeding 23.3685 million, achieving co-construction and sharing of public digital cultural resources across the province. By the end of 2025, the total volume of digitized ancient texts in the province reached over 1.6 million images, including more than 300,000 images of ancient texts in minority languages. Revitalization projects like "Dian Nan Cao Ben" (Herbal Classics of Southern Yunnan) have been recognized as national excellent cases. Utilizing smart methods such as AI services, intelligent borrowing, and digital experiences enhances the service efficiency of cultural venues. Efforts to extend smart reading services to urban study rooms and grassroots service points are ongoing, continuously improving a convenient and accessible modern reading service system to better meet the public's diverse and high-quality reading needs.