Chongqing — A brooch woven using the centuries-old craft of Fuzhou Thread-Knotting, combined with gemstones, gold, silver and wood, has earned a place in the Palace Museum's cultural and creative product collection.
For Li Lei, a representative inheritor of the traditional craft from Chongqing's Fuling District, the recognition is more than a personal achievement. It reflects a broader movement led by a new generation determined to preserve China's intangible cultural heritage while giving it new relevance in contemporary life.
On June 13, during Chongqing's main celebration of China's Cultural and Natural Heritage Day in Yunyang County, Li was among 100 practitioners selected for the 2026 Chongqing Young Inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage program, which recognizes young people dedicated to preserving and revitalizing traditional culture.
The list spans many of Chongqing's best-known heritage traditions, including Rongchang Ramie Cloth Weaving Techniques, Sichuan Pingshu (storytelling), Fuzhou Thread-Knotting, Yu-style Filigree Inlay, Liangping Woodblock New Year Prints and the Tongliang Dragon Dance.
Behind each name is a story of innovation rooted in tradition. For many of Chongqing's young inheritors, safeguarding traditional craftsmanship begins with preserving its core techniques while exploring new possibilities.
Ma Linqin, a municipal-level representative inheritor of Rongchang Ramie Cloth Weaving Techniques, grew up listening to the rhythm of handlooms. After graduating from university, she left her teaching career and returned to her hometown to continue a textile tradition dating back more than a thousand years.
Ma Linqin, a municipal-level representative inheritor of the Rongchang Ramie Cloth Weaving Techniques, demonstrates the traditional craft. (Photo/Interviewee)
dedicated to preserving and revitalizing traditional culture.
The list spans many of Chongqing's best-known heritage traditions, including Rongchang Ramie Cloth Weaving Techniques, Sichuan Pingshu (storytelling), Fuzhou Thread-Knotting, Yu-style Filigree Inlay, Liangping Woodblock New Year Prints and the Tongliang Dragon Dance.
Behind each name is a story of innovation rooted in tradition. For many of Chongqing's young inheritors, safeguarding traditional craftsmanship begins with preserving its core techniques while exploring new possibilities.
Ma Linqin, a municipal-level representative inheritor of Rongchang Ramie Cloth Weaving Techniques, grew up listening to the rhythm of handlooms. After graduating from university, she left her teaching career and returned to her hometown to continue a textile tradition dating back more than a thousand years.
Ramie cloth has long been prized for its feather-light texture and paper-thin delicacy, yet producing it remains a painstaking process. From preparing the ramie fiber and spinning thread to weaving on traditional looms, each piece requires dozens of manual steps.
Rather than altering the traditional production process, Ma has expanded the material's applications. She combines ramie cloth with Xuan paper to create handcrafted notebooks, develops reusable tea filters made from natural ramie, and designs lampshades, handbags and even ramie-themed homestays. One of her notebook designs was selected as an official cultural souvenir for a national conference on intangible cultural heritage.
Earlier this year, while standing in a ramie field, Ma handed freshly harvested stalks to a group of children.
"Touch it," she said. "Doesn't it feel a bit like an old towel that's been washed many times? But stronger and tougher."
The children gathered around, surprised that the fibers could bend without breaking.
For Ma, helping children experience the material firsthand is just as important as preserving the craft itself.
A similar philosophy guides Diao Juan, a district-level representative inheritor of Shu Embroidery. Trained in oil painting at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Diao brings an artist's understanding of light and shadow to traditional embroidery, allowing silk threads to produce shifting visual effects.
Her embroidered works are no longer confined to clothing or decorative objects. Today, they stand as contemporary artworks in their own right.
Other young artisans are also reimagining long-established crafts.
Song Wei, a district-level representative inheritor of Rongchang Pottery Firing Techniques, graduated from Jingdezhen Ceramic University and introduced sculptural techniques into traditional Rongchang pottery, developing an original relief-style decorative method. Her "Lotus Harmony" tea set received a bronze award at the fifth exhibition of China's Four Great Pottery Traditions.
Together, they demonstrate that preserving tradition does not mean freezing it in time.
Keeping traditional crafts alive also means ensuring they remain visible and accessible. Every Saturday beneath the ancient Tongyuanmen section of Chongqing's ancient city wall, Yuan Guohu, a municipal-level representative inheritor of Sichuan Pingshu, performs before audiences of all ages.
Yuan Guohu, a municipal-level representative inheritor of Sichuan Pingshu, performs the traditional storytelling art. (Photo/Interviewee)
Armed with nothing more than a table, a folding fan and a wooden clapper, Yuan blends traditional storytelling with modern pacing and expressive body language.
Winner of the 10th China Quyi Peony Award for Best New Performer, Yuan says the listeners seated beneath the city wall matter most.
"I believe storytelling will continue," he said. "As a storyteller, I have the responsibility to pass it on."
While Yuan has revitalized a traditional performance space, Gu Guoqiang, a representative inheritor of Yu-style Filigree Inlay, has found a new audience online.
After returning to Chongqing from Beijing in 2015 to study the intricate art of gold and silver filigree, Gu began documenting his work on platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou.
Thousands of viewers have watched delicate butterflies emerge from strands of silver wire during his livestreams, with many commenting that they had never realized intangible cultural heritage could be so captivating.
Today, Gu has more than 400,000 followers and produces more than 1,000 handcrafted pieces each year, demonstrating how social media can transform a centuries-old craft into a contemporary cultural trend.
For Li Lei, innovation has also created economic opportunities.
Originally from neighboring Sichuan Province, Li married into Chongqing's Fuling District, where she inherited the tradition of Fuzhou Thread-Knotting. At the time, the craft was largely confined to decorative tassels for gift packaging.
She incorporated local cultural elements into her designs and exhibited her work at the Palace Museum. Cultural products inspired by artifacts in the museum's collection have since been included in the museum's official cultural and creative product program.
Since 2016, the Fuzhou Thread-Knotting Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop has organized more than 100 free training sessions for over 10,000 participants, directly helping more than 4,800 people increase their incomes while supporting an industry chain with an annual output value exceeding 60 million yuan (about US$8.4 million).
For Chongqing's young inheritors, preserving heritage ultimately depends on inspiring the next generation.
At just 28, Xie Zhaolu, a district-level representative inheritor of Blue Calico Printing and Dyeing Techniques, has already developed more than 50 cultural and creative products ranging from clothing and home décor to handbags.
Xie Zhaolu, a district-level representative inheritor of the Blue Calico Printing and Dyeing Craft, demonstrates the traditional craft. (Photo/Interviewee)
The stories of these 100 young inheritors reflect a common goal. Some are introducing ancient textiles to international audiences. Others are reinventing traditional performing arts, expanding centuries-old crafts through digital platforms, creating new industries or bringing heritage into classrooms.
Their work demonstrates that intangible cultural heritage is not preserved by remaining unchanged. It endures because each generation finds new ways to practice it, share it and pass it on.