China Intangible Cultural Heritages Travel Guide

Definition of ICH

The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) defines the intangible cultural heritage as the practices, representations, expressions, as well as the knowledge and skills (including instruments, objects, artifacts, cultural spaces), that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage. It is sometimes called living cultural heritage. It is manifested in the five domains: Oral traditions and expressions; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; traditional craftsmanship.

Features of ICH

The biggest features of the intangible cultural heritage is not separated from the special way of life and production. It exists on the basis of people themselves, with sound, image and skills as the means of expression, and is continued with the body and mouth transmission. It is the most vulnerable part of the "living" culture and its traditions. Therefore, for the process of inheriting intangible cultural heritage, the inheritors is particularly important.

Protection System of ICH

To standardize China's intangible cultural heritage protection work, the State Council issued the notice on strengthening the protection of cultural heritage and make a 4-level protection system, namely Nation-Province-City-County protection system. It urged all localities and departments concerned to carry out the work principle of "Protection with High Priority, Rescue First, Rational Utilization, Inheritance and Development" and earnestly do a good job in the protection, management and rational utilization of intangible cultural heritage.

• National Level: National Intangible Cultural Heritage List
• Provincial Level: Including 31 intangible cultural heritages list at the provincial level such as Jiangsu Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage List, Shanxi Provincial Intangible Heritage List, Shandong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage List, etc.
• Municipal Level: Including 334 intangible cultural heritages at the municipal level such as Yangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage List, Xuzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage List, Tianjin Intangible Cultural Heritage List, etc.
• County Level: Including 2853 intangible cultural heritages at the county level such as Gaoyi County Intangible Cultural Heritage List, Guangde Intangible Cultural Heritage List, Hengnan County Intangible Cultural Heritage List, etc.

Organizations of Intangible Cultural Heritage

• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITR-AP)
• Protection Center of China Intangible Cultural Heritage
• Expert Committee of China National Intangible Cultural Heritage
• Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China
• Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China

See more about Organizations of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

List of China ICH

The State Council has approved the Ministry of Culture to identify four batches of national intangible cultural heritage lists, respectively published in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2014.

• The First Batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage List on May 20, 2006 (518 items in total)
• The Second Batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage List (510 items in total) on June 14, 2008
• The Third Batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage List on June 10, 2011 (191 items in total)
• The Fourth Batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage List on July 16, 2014 (153 items in total)

See more about National Intangible Cultural Heritages List.

China ICH By UNESCO

By the end of 2018, China has 41 elements included in the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list (including "Urgent Safeguarding List" and "Register of Good Safeguarding Practices"), which is also the country with the largest number of intangible cultural heritage in the world. The declaration of this element must have three basic conditions: artistic value, endangered condition and a complete protection plan.

Representative List

Urgent Safeguarding List

List of Intangible Heritage on Register of Good Safeguarding Practices

See more about China Intangible Cultural Heritage By UNESCO.

Regional Distribution of China Intangible Cultural Heritages

• Beijing(北京)
• Tianjin(天津)
• Shanghai(上海)
• Chongqing(重庆)
• Hebei(河北)
• Shanxi(山西)
• Liaoning(辽宁)
• Jiiin(吉林)
• Heilongjiang(黑龙江)
• Shaanxi(陕西)
• Gansu(甘肃)
• Qinghai(青海)
• Shandong(山东)
• Jiangsu(江苏)
• Zhejiang(浙江)
• Anhui(安徽)
• Jiangxi(江西)
• Fujian(福建)
• Henan(河南)
• Hubei(湖北)
• Hunan(湖南)
• Guangdong(广东)
• Sichuan(四川)
• Guizhou(贵州)
• Yunnan(云南)
• Hainan(海南)
• Inner Mongolia(内蒙古)
• Ningxia(宁夏)
• Guangxi(广西)
• Xinjiang(新疆)
• Tibet(西藏)
• Hong Kong(香港)
• Macau(澳门)

Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Being recognized as an inheritor involves a strict screening process, which includes a preliminary assessment by experts in cultural heritage and a second assessment by a review committee. China has made five lists of the inheritors of National Intangible Cultural Heritage respectively in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018. They are the patron saint of the intangible cultural heritages, aiming at protecting traditional culture, promoting and developing China's intangible cultural heritages.

• Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China Central Government
• Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Beijing City
• Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Jiangsu Province
• Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Anhui Province
• Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Yunnan Province
• Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Tibet

See more about Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage.