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A monthlong event celebrating the charm of the intangible cultural heritages of the Yangtze River Delta region was launched at Dashijie, Shanghai Great World, in Huangpu District on Saturday.
As part of the 2020 Shanghai Tourism Festival, the Yangtze River Delta region intangible cultural heritage festival features a bazaar, webcasts, traditional performances and immersive experiences. The intangible cultural heritage theme park showcases fine works of gold foil craftsmanship and Taohuawu woodblock New Year‘s Print of Jiangsu Province; gold and silver embroidery of Zhejiang Province; inkstick of Anhui Province; and woodblock watermark of Shanghai. Intangible cultural heritage inheritors display exquisite craftsmanship with their nimble fingers at the scene. These also include inheritors of embroidery of ethnic minorities such as Miao, Qiang, Zhuang and Li. Amy Shen, a Shanghai resident in Minhang District, visited the bazaar with her 6-year-old son.
“He has had a joyful time here, and such innovative experiences enable him to learn the intangible cultural heritages of the nation,” Shen said, as the boy was trying woodblock watermarks alongside her. “It is a good training for him as well because woodblock watermarks require different techniques. “The event offers a fresh way for people to get close to intangible cultural heritages and inspires our interest in traditional Chinese culture. It is both fun and knowledgeable.” More than 1,000 performances will be staged during the event. Traditional Chinese operas popular in the delta region such as Huju, Yangju, Wuju and Huangmei, as well as from other places in China like Tianjin kuaiban (clapper talk), Shaanxi Qinqiang, Guangdong Yueju and Henan Quju will be performed. Night performances will be held at Shanghai Great World.
Visitors are invited to share their short videos related to intangible cultural heritage innovation on Douyin to win gifts during the event. An intangible cultural heritage protection alliance in the Yangtze River Delta region was established on Saturday during the opening ceremony. “Intangible cultural heritages in the delta region share many similarities, for example, Jiangnan sizhu and tianshange (folk songs sung in the field by the farmers) widely exist in different places in the region,” said Qian Zhangfan, an expert with the Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center. In Shanghai, there are more than 250 intangible cultural heritages at municipal level, and 55 at country level. “Most involve arts and crafts, and traditional skills, as Shanghai is famous for its industry and commerce, and many time-honored brands in Shanghai boast their own intangible cultural heritages,” said Qian.
“In the city’s countryside where farming culture dominates, they have a lot of intangible cultural heritages similar to other provinces in the region. “Some heritages were on the verge of vanishing, but the situation has improved gradually, and in recent years, we keep innovating to make them survive and develop continuously.” “Cultures in the delta region share many similarities, and cooperation will promote exchange of inheritors,” she said. “Such communication will lift the development of intangible cultural heritages in the whole region, and the collaboration under the alliance will create a broader platform for regional culture in overseas exchange.”
Under the collaboration mechanism, intangible cultural heritage protection centers in the alliance will integrate their resources and conduct regular exchanges. “The delta region boasts a large number of intangible cultural heritage resources in China and they feature rich diversity,” said Dai Heng, director of the Jiangsu Province Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center. In Jiangsu Province, there are more than 170 intangible cultural heritages at national level. “Intangible cultural heritages such as Nanjing brocade, Chinese silk tapestry — kesi, or cut silk, Kunqu Opera, Pingtan (storytelling to music in Suzhou dialect), and Qinhuai Lantern Fair in the province are unique and diversified in their categories, and they are famous as well,” said Dai.
“Although there have been a lot of protection efforts underway, deep exploration, display and development of intangible cultural heritages in China is far from enough,” said Dai. “People’s understanding of intangible cultural heritage is at the surface and they don’t know the cultural value and tradition of these heritages. “The alliance will conduct joint work on protection, establish a sound mechanism on the protection of inheritance teams, venues and resources, and explore more and new protection means. “The key of intangible cultural heritage protection lies in use. Intangible cultural heritages originate from people’s lives. “To inject vitality into intangible cultural heritage, which is live culture, we should maintain their original features, but allow them to be developed and innovated by different inheritors.”
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