On April 15th, the 13th China Online Audiovisual Conference officially opened in Chengdu. More than 4000 institutions and nearly 10000 guests rushed from all directions to attend the appointment. This is the thirteenth time Chengdu has held hands with this grand event.

From the first conference in Rongcheng in 2013, to permanent residency in 2016, and now to the annual meeting as scheduled - in the past 13 years, the China Online Audiovisual Conference has never missed its schedule. This is not common in the history of Chinese exhibitions.

But the other side of the story is that over the past 13 years, Chengdu's online audio-visual industry has grown from a "seedling" to a towering forest with annual revenue exceeding 170 billion yuan. The relationship between the conference and the city has long gone beyond the simple relationship of "hosting the conference" and "hosting the conference".

It is worth mentioning that this is the first industry event in Chengdu during the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan. When AI intelligent agents move from concept to production line, and "one person company" becomes the new normal of digital cultural and creative industries, this event is no longer just a "meeting" - it is not only a witness to the two-way rush of industries and cities, but also opening a new era for the future world.

13 years

From '428 million' to '1.091 billion'

On November 28, 2013, the first China Online Audiovisual Conference was held in Chengdu. At that time, more than 800 guests were present, and the conference's perspective covered "new formats" such as mobile TV, online radio, and mobile multimedia.

The data from that year seems somewhat distant today - the number of online video users in China was 428 million, with a penetration rate of 69.3% among netizens. The scale of the online audio-visual industry back then was less than 30 billion yuan.

In 2016, three years later, on the eve of the fourth conference, a major event that determined the industry landscape occurred: the China Network Audiovisual Program Service Association signed a memorandum with Chengdu Radio and Television Station, announcing that the China Network Audiovisual Conference would permanently settle in Chengdu from 2016 onwards. Afterwards, at the end of each year or in the spring of the following year, the big names in the national online audio-visual industry appeared in Rongcheng as scheduled.

Tianfu Art Museum

Another ten years have passed. In the spring of 2026, the 13th conference arrived as scheduled, with the theme of "Prosperous New Popular Literature and Art, Innovating Audiovisual Times Together". According to data previously released by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the number of online audio-visual users in China has reached 1.091 billion, with a high usage rate of 98.4% among netizens, and the market size of the entire industry has exceeded 122 trillion yuan.

The leap from 428 million to 1.091 billion, from 800 to nearly 10000 people, from less than 30 billion yuan to over one trillion yuan - this group of numbers represents the 13 year transformation of China's online audio-visual industry. But the significance of the conference for Chengdu goes far beyond just "witnessing".

When the 2016 conference permanently settled in, Chengdu's online audio-visual industry was still in its "growth stage". Three years later, in 2019, there were more than 3400 Internet enterprises in Chengdu, with an operating income of more than 54.85 billion yuan.

Afterwards, accelerate. In 2024, the total revenue of Chengdu's online audio-visual industry will exceed 170 billion yuan. Among them, the revenue scale of audio-visual software research and development industry reached 84 billion yuan, with over 50000 employees. In the same year, the added value of Chengdu's cultural and creative industries exceeded 280 billion yuan.

By 2025, the total revenue of Chengdu's digital cultural and creative core industries will reach 413.97 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%, and the comprehensive strength of the industry will remain in the forefront of the country. During the 12th Online Audiovisual Conference that year, 57 projects were signed with a total investment of nearly 22.1 billion yuan, covering the entire industry chain from technology research and development to content production.

Sign a memorandum 12 years ago and grow into an industrial forest 12 years later.

Nezha Street View

From 'Driving in Chengdu' to 'Growing up in Chengdu'

If we say that in the first twelve years, the conference was held in Chengdu; So in the thirteenth year, the conference has already begun to grow in Chengdu.

In the spring of 2026, the 15th Five Year Plan has just begun, and the China Online Audiovisual Conference stands at a new starting point of the era: it is no longer just a barometer of the industry, but also a window to the future world. At this conference, "human-computer interaction" became the hottest keyword. When the concept of "OPC One Person Company" is implemented as an industrial action in Chengdu, and when "AI intelligent agents" are no longer auxiliary tools but creative subjects, this meeting will no longer explore "how technology is used", but "how humans and machines can co create".

At the beginning of this year, the first OPC community in China focusing on "AI+digital cultural and creative" was officially launched in Chengdu. On April 14th, Chengdu SOShow Digital Cultural and Creative Industry Event released the "Jinguan Xingyao OPC Acceleration Plan", focusing on AI+IP, forming a complete closed loop of "IP drainage intelligent agent empowerment OPC innovation scene landing traffic mutual guidance". On the same day, the "AI Super Creation Competition" 24-hour master competition was held simultaneously in four cities: Chengdu, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Macau. The 24 teams, themed "Beautiful China in Solar Terms," completed their ultimate creations within 24 hours. As Professor Lv Xin, one of the initiators of the ACX competition and the Dean of the Digital Human Research Institute at Communication University of China, said, "This is an on-site meeting of Chinese youth's imagination, expression, and cultural creativity in the era of AI. ?

These changes reflect the evolution of the conference itself.

For the first time this year, job fairs have been included in the agenda of the conference, with over 70 top companies releasing more than 5000 positions. The conference also breaks the traditional boundary of "meetings only in the conference center" and extends the activity map to urban landmarks such as Tianfu Long Island, Dongjiao Memory, and Wenshu Fang. Holding an art healing exhibition and urban music live in Tianfu Changdao, and implementing a large-scale themed IP check-in device; Organize the "Blooming Tianfu" city audio-visual tour online; Establish the 2026 Network Audiovisual Innovation Exhibition and Open Day to showcase cutting-edge technology applications such as virtual filming and AI generated content.

It can be seen that the conference is moving from an "industry conference" to a "public sharing festival".

From the venue to the whole city

A meeting is breaking through the boundaries

For the past 13 years, the relationship between a meeting and a city is no longer just about "hosting" and "being hosted". The conference brings traffic and attention to the city, and the city provides a stage and soil for the conference.

The deep logic of mutual achievement, as Yu Haixia, the head of the International Business Master's program and deputy director of the Digital Commerce Department at the Communication University of China, explained when interpreting the growth code of Chengdu's online audio-visual industry: "Chengdu's inclusiveness and cultural heritage provide a constant source of inspiration for online audio-visual creation. Leisure and struggle, boiling and diving will become new capital for Chengdu's future creative narrative

In the past 13 years, not only has the scale of the industry increased, but more importantly, there has been an inherent qualitative change in Chengdu's digital cultural and creative ecosystem.

At the beginning of April this year, "Ne Zha: The Demons of the Sea" surpassed "Titanic" with a global box office of 2.267 billion US dollars, rising to the fourth place on the global box office chart in film history. Immediately after, the animated theatrical version of "Covering the Sky" went live and topped the charts, with over 2.14 million online reservations and a score of 9.6, attracting 38 hot searches. Going forward, in 2025, "King of Glory" will continue to go global, and "Craftsman" will win international awards - the concentrated outbreak of these "Made in Chengdu" IPs is supported by an increasingly mature industrial chain.

Dongjiao Memory Chengdu Wall

This maturity is closely related to the "linking" role of the conference.

For many years, the China Online Audiovisual Conference has brought "people" to Chengdu - the most sensitive group of people in the industry who come to Chengdu every year to "find answers". They bring not only viewpoints and trends, but also possibilities for projects, capital, and cooperation. Leading companies such as Hujing Entertainment, Yitong Production, and Dianzhong Technology have successively settled in Chengdu, while local enterprises such as Kekedou Animation and Xingyue Chenshi have rapidly emerged. Xiaomi's "Watch Short Drama" platform has also expanded its presence in Sichuan. A complete industrial chain from IP incubation, content production, technology research and development to distribution and operation is accelerating its formation in Chengdu.

At the same time, top-level design is also continuously being strengthened. On April 7th, a special meeting was held in Chengdu to promote the construction of the "Three Cities and Three Capitals", which clearly proposed the construction of an important national cultural and creative center and a digital cultural and creative industry cluster, in line with the construction of the "Three Cities and Three Capitals". In the 15th Five Year Plan, Chengdu has for the first time elevated digital cultural and creative industries to the level of urban development positioning for coordinated planning.

Tianfu Changdao Digital Cultural and Creative Park

In 2013, through a conference, we also saw a fuller urban story: Chengdu, a creative city, a talent city, and a future city??

From "King of Glory" to "Nezha", from "Covering the Sky" to "OPC One Person Company", Chengdu has patiently nurtured a tropical rainforest of digital cultural and creative industries over the past decade. It knows the value of creativity and how to make it take root and sprout.

Chengdu has been awarded the title of "China's Best Talent Attraction City" for seven consecutive years, with over 1.56 million young talents studying in Chengdu in the past three years. The campus job fair, AI super innovation competition, and the guest structure of "More New Faces" held during the conference are all telling the sincerity and tolerance of this city towards young entrepreneurs.

Chengdu is even more of a future city. When "human-computer interaction" becomes the core topic of this conference, when "AI intelligent agents" begin to reconstruct the logic of content production, and when "OPC One Person Company" explores a new form of industrial organization - this city is embracing new quality productivity with its keen industrial sense and forward-looking strategic layout, opening a new era in the future world.

At this moment, Kevin Kelly, the father of the Silicon Valley spirit, will share his forward-looking insights on the integration of artificial intelligence and the audiovisual industry in the venue; Outside the venue, Chengdu's spring is welcoming visitors from all directions with the most relaxed posture. 13 years ago, no one could have foreseen such a profound connection between this event and this city.

The most sensitive group of people in the industry come to Chengdu as scheduled every spring. They bring not only viewpoints and trends, but also projects and capital. And as the city responds to this grand event with an increasingly mature industrial ecosystem, the story forms a perfect closed loop. The best way to achieve mutual success with a city is to grow together.