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Innovation is an essential response to immediate challenges, but also "critical to the future success of the culture sector." Rehana Mughal reports on key lessons we can learn from China's experience of the crisis.

The value added of culture and related industries in China has reached over 3,472 billion CNY (about £400 billion), accounting for 4.2 per cent of GDP. However, during 12 weeks of lockdown the arts and cultural sector closed its offline doors and turned attention towards online audiences.

With 904 million people online in China and 99.3 per cent of them going online using mobile devices, there was no shortage of audience. Online applications saw huge growth including online education and live streaming which saw user numbers soar by 110.2 per cent, 41.1 per cent respectively.

Just days after the lockdown in Wuhan, China’s National Administration of Cultural Heritage issued a statement requesting the country’s state-owned and private museums to share their exhibitions online to 'encourage the determination and morale of local people to fight the epidemic.'

China National Museum, the Palace Museum, the Shanghai Museum and others responded with 3D virtual tours. The Palace Museum led a livestreaming session on TikTok that attracted 10 million online views... Keep reading on British Council