Over 12,000 activities to be held to celebrate Cultural and Natural Heritage Day

Ministry of Culture and Tourism holds a press conference on Thursday. Photo：Wu Jie/GT

More than 12,000 intangible cultural heritage promotion and display activities will be held across China around the time of “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day” in June, according to a press conference held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) on Thursday. 

Every year on the second Saturday of June, China celebrates its Cultural and Natural Heritage Day. This year, the day falls on June 8 and a diverse array of online and offline events will focus on preserving and passing on intangible cultural heritage to promote the high quality development of the cultural industry by inheriting the legacy of historical traditions. 

The year 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of China joining the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

One of the major events, the exhibition on intangible cultural heritage protection practices hosted by the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum (CICHM), will open on June 7 and run for one year. 

Wang Chenyang, Party secretary of the CICHM, told the Global Times that the exhibition will feature over 100 representative national intangible cultural heritage projects and items listed in UNESCO's intangible heritage lists, with more than 600 pieces (or sets) of exhibits, covering ten major categories of intangible cultural heritage. 

“Through a multi-faceted display approach incorporating text, images, physical objects and multimedia interaction, the exhibition will showcase the vitality and richness of intangible cultural heritage, deeply exploring and presenting the cultural connotations and contemporary value inherent in these traditions, and promoting their integration into modern life,” said Wang. 

A photo exhibition has also been held by the China Tourism News to reflect the memorable moments in intangible cultural heritage through artistic presentations. 

Xu Xing, Party secretary of the China Tourism News, said at the press conference that a total of 7,664 works submitted by 1,291 participants have been received for this event. Currently, the organizers are coordinating with relevant experts to select outstanding works. An online vote for the best works will take place from early June. 

“Through this event, we hope to enhance public awareness and understanding of intangible cultural heritage, and to inspire enthusiasm across society for the protection, promotion, and development of intangible cultural heritage,” said Xu. 

Meanwhile, China Association of Performing Arts has joined hands with major social media platforms to screen selected intangible cultural heritage films from June 7 to 30. 

Since joining the International Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, China counts 57 World Heritage Sites to date, of which 39 are cultural heritage sites, 14 natural heritage sites, ranking second in the world.