China builds intangible cultural heritage protection network

Updated: Jun 10, 2019 Xinhua Print

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A folk dance performance is seen on the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day at a scenic spot in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian province, on June 8, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Exclusive but not "lost" techniques

As of 2018, Henan Province in central China owned 127 national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritors and 832 provincial-level ones, covering all fields of lives.

In order not to let these exclusive techniques become lost, the province has undertaken a series of measures to preserve and carry forward the heritage.

Some inheritors of wood paintings, paper cuts and porcelain have been sent to institutions of high education to learn about changes in social needs. Their products have absorbed modern fashions and characteristics.

China has spent 300 million yuan ($43.5 million) protecting the intangible cultural heritage of Tibet Autonomous Region over the past 13 years.

According to the regional people's art museum, from 2006 to 2018, the central government spent 195 million yuan, while the regional government spent over 80 million yuan in the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

Tibetans in poverty-stricken areas now have a chance to make their way out through traditional craftsmanship, since 10 workshops were set up this March to promote employment and shake off poverty as local residents learn to make intangible cultural heritage handicrafts, such as Tibetan incense, Buddhist prayer flags and Pusum hand-engraving.

A performance of traditional Chinese musical instruments is seen on the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day at a scenic spot in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian province, on June 8, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Nationwide network

China has set up a nationwide intangible cultural heritage protection network comprising 2,467 institutions and 17,308 personnel as of the end of 2018, according to a government report.

These institutions sponsored about 65,500 related performances and over 16,800 folk culture activities in 2018, attracting 98 million people to watch, said the report from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

In 2018, a total of 1,082 individuals were newly recognized as artists with the responsibility of carrying forward the country's intangible cultural heritage, figures from the report show.

The figure brought the total number of national-level inheritors of intangible cultural heritage in China to 3,068.

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