Between September 16 and 20, Liu Qibao, vice chairperson of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), led a delegation to inspect the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) protection and inheritance in Hunan Province.

Ye Xiaowen, deputy director of the Committee of Culture, History and Study of the CPPCC National Committee, and Li Weiwei, chairwoman of the CPPCC Hunan Provincial Committee, attended the inspection tour.

Wang Shiming, deputy director of the Committee of Culture, History and Study of the CPPCC National Committee, and Hunan provincial leaders Qin Guowen and Yi Pengfei, also participated.

The delegation visited Zhangjiajie City, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and Huaihua City. They inspected local ICH items, and communicated with the ICH inheritors, to learn about protection, inheritance, and development of ICH items.

Liu noted that, Hunan has paid high attention to ICH protection and inheritance, and rolled out strong and effective measures, including strengthening policy support, improving protection plan, creating featured brands, and enhancing personnel training.

On September 16 evening, the delegation held a work conference in Sangzhi County on Hunan's ICH protection and inheritance. The delegates listened to the reports of Hunan Province and Zhangjiajie City on the ICH protection and inheritance work, and discussed with the persons in charge of relevant provincial and municipal departments.

In recent years, the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and the Hunan Provincial People's Government have been attaching great importance to the ICH protection and inheritance. Several cultural and folk customs projects were included in the UNESCO's list of ICH items, including Kunqu Opera; shadow puppetry; Dragon Boat Festival folk customs along the Miluo River; and, Ganqiu Festival of Miao ethnic group and Ganfenshe (Shennong Equiniox Medicine God Festival) in Anren, both folk celebrations for the Chinese 24 Solar terms. There are 137 national-level ICH items; 121 national-level ICH inheritors; one national-level cultural ecology protection zone; 4 national-level demonstration bases for ICH preservation; and, 6 research and training institutions for ICH inheritors. Fruitful achievements have been made in ICH protection and inheritance around the province. 

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunantoday