The county level city of Hai’an has been honored with the title of Hometown of Chinese Literature. The title, which made Haian the eighth city in the country to receive this honor, was awarded by the Chinese Cultural Foundation of the Chinese Writers Association at the city’s Cultural Development Conference.
Over the centuries, Hai’an is known for its pool of literary talents. Wei Jiangong, a modern language and philologist born in Haian, is known as the father of "Xinhua Dictionary". Jiang Hesen's "An Introduction to A Dream of Red Mansions" is recognized by academia as a landmark monograph. Hai’an is also home to dozens of well-known writers such as Xia Jianyong, Wang Zheng, Wu Yiqin, and Chen Xingeng. Hai’an will sponsor national literary activities such as the "Annual Gold List Review and Release of Novels", and build the Lixiahe Water Village Literary Creation Base. At the Cultural Development Conference, Haian announced the establishment of a 200-million-yuan cultural development fund and a 20-million-yuan special fund for cultural undertakings in a bid to inject strong impetus into the prosperity and development of local cultural undertakings and cultural industries.
