Yunnan's cultural trade center went into business in Singapore on April 6, marking a key step forward in the city's "going global" strategy. It was jointly financed by Yunnan Xinhua Bookstore Group and a Singapore-based company.

The center is located in Singapore's financial center and has an area of 440 square meters. It will display and sell Chinese books and other publications, calligraphies, paintings and art crafts by famous artists in Yunnan.

The trade center will play an important role in promoting Yunnan's distinctive cuisine, culture, tourism and Chinese education.

Yunnan Publishing Group, parent company of Xinhua Bookstore, has been actively branching out into the overseas market to boost Yunnan's ethnic culture, according to company officials.

The group will take steps to build cultural trade centers in Southeast Asia and South Asia in two or three years.