Chongqing - More than 30 intangible cultural heritage-related events are planned across Chongqing during the ninth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo from Nov. 6 to 10. A riverside concert featuring traditional performances on Oct. 30 will give residents and visitors an early preview of the city's cultural activities.

The expo, organized by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, will be held at the Chongqing International Convention and Exhibition Center in Nan'an District. It will be the first time the national event has taken place in western China, bringing together more than 800 intangible cultural heritage projects from across the country. The exhibitions and performances will be free to attend.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance performance. (Photo: iChongqing)

The Oct. 30 concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. on the first-floor terrace of the Chongqing Planning Exhibition Gallery along Nanbin Road. The Chongqing Symphony Orchestra will perform Chinese folk music and international classics. The program will also feature Chuanjiang Haozi, Sichuan opera face-changing, Jinqian Ban, Jielong Chuida, and the Tongliang dragon dance. Chuanjiang Haozi refers to traditional work songs sung by boatmen to coordinate their movements while rowing or hauling boats, while Jinqian Ban combines storytelling and singing with rhythms played on bamboo clappers.

Ding Changfu, a national-level representative inheritor of Jinqian Ban, will perform Xiucai Guogou (The Scholar Crossing the Ditch) with his students. In the second stage, Tan Xianhua, an artist specializing in traditional Chinese dough figurines, will create a large sculpture inspired by the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers and Chongqing's signature split-pot hotpot.

The poster of the 9th China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo.

Beyond the concert, other districts will host their own heritage events. Wanzhou will hold a Three Gorges heritage market, Rongchang will stage a food festival featuring its traditional braised goose, and Qianjiang will organize a market for heritage crafts and design. Nan'an District has also planned three visitor routes featuring local food, traditional crafts such as pottery and dough figurines, and traditional Chinese medicine, including medicinal food preparation.

The program will also extend into Chongqing's public spaces. On Nov. 6, an Intangible Cultural Heritage Night show at Danzishi Square will bring together 14 traditional performances from across China, along with a traditional costume show and a drone light display. The following morning, representatives of eight tai chi styles will lead 600 martial arts enthusiasts in a performance at Chaotianmen Square.

While these events will give visitors a chance to experience traditional culture, another effort focuses on the people who keep these skills alive. In the latest round of a national support program for young heritage inheritors, 30 people were selected from across China, including two from Chongqing.

One is Ma Linqin, a municipal-level representative inheritor of Rongchang Ramie Cloth Weaving Techniques. Ramie cloth is a traditional fabric woven from ramie, a plant used to make textile fibers. While preserving its hand-weaving methods, Ma has found new uses for the material, creating handbags, lampshades, and notebooks. Her craft was also featured at a national heritage conference in Chaoyang, Liaoning Province, earlier this month, giving visitors a closer look at traditional ramie weaving and its modern uses.

Ma Linqin, a municipal-level representative inheritor of the Rongchang Ramie Cloth Weaving Techniques, demonstrates the traditional craft. (Photo: Interviewee)

Launched in 2023, the national support program aims to help younger inheritors strengthen their skills and develop sustainable careers. The program provides training in branding, marketing, and digital communication, along with opportunities to work with designers and businesses on new products. The program is part of broader efforts to keep traditional crafts relevant in modern life.

In September, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a five-year plan to protect intangible cultural heritage, calling for stronger training programs for inheritors, more opportunities for people to learn about and experience traditional culture, and greater use of traditional skills in everyday life. Chongqing's own five-year culture and tourism plan includes training young inheritors, developing heritage workshops, and bringing traditional arts into schools and communities. 

The upcoming expo will also show how traditional crafts are finding new uses in modern life. Four themed exhibitions will cover fashion, food, traditional medicine, and technology. The fashion exhibition will feature heritage-inspired designs, including clothing previously shown at international fashion weeks. Visitors can also sample traditional foods, explore Chinese medicinal practices, and see how digital tools preserve and present traditional skills.

Visitors can also watch craftspeople demonstrate Dazu stone carving, Shu embroidery, Chaozhou wood carving, and woodblock New Year printmaking. The expo will feature 118 food-related heritage projects, while Chongqing will showcase 139 local heritage projects, including Sichuan opera, Chuanjiang Haozi, and Rongchang folding fans.