Chongqing - On Oct 6, the 9th China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo opened in Chongqing, turning this southwest Chinese metropolis into a living showcase of the nation's cultural memory and a testing ground for how tradition can thrive in the modern age.
Under the theme "Protecting and Inheriting Intangible Cultural Heritage, Sharing a Better Life," the five-day expo brings together more than 890 heritage projects and over 930 inheritors from across China.
The main exhibition highlights achievements in systematic heritage protection, inheritor training and the development of heritage workshops. Four themed sections then push the conversation into contemporary life: a food fair gathering 118 culinary heritage projects, a fashion and lifestyle exhibition, a traditional medicine zone, and a technology section where XR and AI turn ancient crafts like Dazu stone carving and Tongliang dragon dance into hands-on digital experiences.
On the floor, visitors see a striking generational dialogue—the perseverance of veteran masters alongside the bold experimentation of young inheritors.
An Yuge, a national-level inheritor of Hui folk instrumental music from Ningxia, embodies both. Her family has safeguarded the kouxian, a traditional Jew's harp, for nearly a century. "From my mother, to my generation, and now to the next, we have spent almost a hundred years protecting and passing this on," she said. Her booth even features a playful twist: a fridge magnet that hides a mouth harp inside and doubles as an incense holder.
Her vision reaches beyond preservation. "Through years of exploration — fusing our instruments with others, including a cross-cultural collaboration with Danish musician HEDEGAARD on the music documentary
Western China's Melody — our path keeps widening," she said. "We can reach the world and go further."
Technology is reshaping even the oldest crafts. Peng Yuxiang, a representative inheritor of Tianjin's lacquerware decoration techniques, brought pieces shaped through 3D modeling. "Traditionally, we had to carve a thick block of wood just to see how a vessel's belly would look," he explained. "Now we can judge the proportions and the final effect directly through modeling — then apply the lacquer." The result: traditional forms, perfected digitally before a single layer of lacquer is brushed on.
Beyond the exhibitions, the expo stages heritage performances, business matchmaking sessions, and themed dialogues linking inheritors with enterprises and industry associations. Chongqing is also hosting side events including a mass tai chi performance at Chaotianmen, an "ICH Night" show on the riverside, and a heritage-themed cruise — part of the city's bid to turn the expo's energy into lasting cultural tourism assets.