Hekou District, Dongying City: Bringing Intangible Cultural Heritage to Life and Igniting Its Flame

Recently, a window paper-cutting event took place in the Chongwen Community of Liuhe Sub-district, Hekou District, Dongying City, Shandong Province. The exquisite window paper-cut artworks were truly a sight to behold. "This community event brought us immense joy. It not only provided insights into China's outstanding traditional paper-cutting culture but also allowed us to personally craft meaningful gifts for ourselves," shared Mrs. Wang, who was actively participating in the art of paper-cutting as she showcased her intricate window paper-cut creation.

In recent years, Hekou District in Dongying has actively delved into traditional culture, leveraging its abundant literary resources and platforms to organize diverse activities for the promotion and inheritance of outstanding traditional culture. Adopting the "library + academy" public cultural service model, the district has enlisted local inheritors of intangible cultural heritage as volunteer lecturers at Nishan Academy. This initiative has led to the introduction of a range of experiential courses on intangible cultural heritage, including paper-cutting, the game of go, calligraphy, Chinese painting, ancient zither, paper-making, seal cutting, tie-dying, rubbing, pyrography, and woodblock printing of New Year pictures. The program has successfully captivated the enthusiasm of over 1,000 intangible cultural heritage enthusiast.

In the upcoming phase, Hekou District will leverage the district's cultural and tourism bureau to initiate the "Rural Academy" project throughout the district. A "Volunteer Team for Preserving Excellent Traditional Culture," comprising reading promotion advocates and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage in Hekou District, will venture into villages and communities. The goal is to bring the beauty of traditional Chinese culture closer to the people, enabling them to experience the allure of intangible cultural heritage firsthand. This initiative aims to make intangible cultural heritage more accessible, fostering its vibrant presence and widespread appreciation.

Source: News Office of the People's Government of Hekou District