The concentrated outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in the past three years has seriously hindered the development of world cities. Especially the obstruction of space and the restriction of personnel flow have brought constraints to the development of urban culture and creative industries. Faced with unprecedented crises，cities around the world are also rapidly formulating cultural policies to actively respond. In the emergency phase of the COVID-19 epidemic，cultural policies are usually “fast policies”，the key of which is how to maintain the momentum of innovation in a special period. In the recovery phase，urban cultural policies are increasingly focused on strengthening cultural and creative ecosystems. To promote the development of restorative growth，cultural policies should continue to exert efforts in formulating long-term strategies，establishing guarantee mechanisms，and establishing priorities. In the future，Chinese cities should fully recognize the strategic role of culture in urban development，actively formulate long-term cultural development plans，implement grassroots oriented，participatory，flexible and effective cultural policies，seek the transformation and upgrading of urban cultural industries，and promote high-quality urban development.