China Intangible Cultural Heritages (ICH) refer to the living cultural traditions that are passed down through generations, including oral traditions, performing arts, rituals, traditional craftsmanship, and knowledge of nature. According to UNESCO, ICH represents cultural expressions recognized by communities as part of their heritage. In China, these traditions—such as Peking Opera and Chinese Calligraphy—are essential to understanding the country’s cultural identity and historical continuity.
A key feature of intangible cultural heritage in China is its strong connection to daily life, local traditions, and community practices. Unlike tangible heritage, ICH relies on human transmission, often passed down through oral teaching, performance, and hands-on skills. This makes it highly vulnerable to modernization, highlighting the importance of ICH inheritors, who play a crucial role in preserving and continuing these traditions. China has established a comprehensive four-level protection system (national, provincial, municipal, and county) to safeguard these cultural assets.
China is one of the leading countries in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage listings, with over 40 recognized elements, making it the country with the largest number of listed items. These include globally known traditions such as the Dragon Boat Festival and the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, as well as diverse regional practices across provinces like Yunnan and Guangdong. Together, these elements showcase the richness of Chinese traditional culture and the country’s ongoing efforts in cultural preservation and sustainable heritage development.
The national Eco-cultural Preservation Area refers to a specific area set up with the approval of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which takes the protection of intangible cultural heritage as the core and carries out overall protection of cultural forms with rich historical and cultural accumulation, good survival status, important values and distinctive features. The "Intangible Cultural Heritage Law of the People's Republic of China" implemented since June 1, 2011 stipulates that "for specific areas where representative projects of intangible cultural heritage are concentrated, distinctive in characteristics, and complete in form and content, the local cultural authorities can formulate special protection plans and implement regional overall protection upon approval by the people's government at the corresponding level".
The Minnan Eco-Cultural Preservation Area (闽南文化生态保护区) is a national-level cultural and ecological preservation zone approved by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in December 2019...