Home>News Center>Life
         
 

Intangible cultural heritage to be listed
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-11-17 08:43

China is building up its own list of intangible cultural heritage to protect ethnic minorities' languages, art, music, dance and religion.

"As we continue to apply to UNESCO for recognition of China's diverse cultural treasures... we should establish China's own list," said Zhou Heping, vice-minister of culture, at a three-day International Symposium on Preservation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Arts, the symposium, which started yesterday in Beijing, has attracted more than 150 participants from over 20 countries including the South Korea, Japan, Viet Nam, France, Germany, Austria and the United States.

High on the agenda was preser-vation and policies that would safeguard this heritage in a scientific, comprehensive and systematic way.

"The intangible cultural heritage of different countries and different ethnic groups is the cultural treasure of humanity," said Wang Wenzhang, president of the Chinese Academy of Arts.

In 2002, the academy launched a project to identify and preserve intangible cultural heritage, which brought local individual projects into the fold of a national system.

In February 2003, a national centre was set up in Beijing.

To date, UNESCO has listed China's kunqu opera and guqin as "master pieces of oral and intangible cultural heritage."

In addition, a total of 39 different cultural genres such as the Uygur 12 Muqum, nanyin, Tibetan drama and some traditional folk crafts have been listed by China's own preservation centre, said Li Ke, deputy director of the centre.

The centre will also give regular training courses on intangible culture preservation.



Zhang Ziyi praises her compatriot Gong Li
Nicole Kidman to be Citizen of the World
New 'Canto-pop kings' list
  Today's Top News     Top Life News
 

Beijing may get Yangtze water by 2010

 

   
 

Economic growth on stable upward curve

 

   
 

Overseas Chinese allowed to tranfer RMB

 

   
 

Mystery virus strikes HK children

 

   
 

US warned: Be aware of Chen's dirty tricks

 

   
 

Nation to build new satellite system

 

   
  Zhang Ziyi praises her compatriot Gong Li
   
  Nicole Kidman to be Citizen of the World
   
  Why isn't Maggie Cheung a Hollywood star?
   
  Leonid meteor shower expected this week
   
  New 'Canto-pop kings' list
   
  Survey: Shanghai men make lousy workers
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Convention approved on intangible cultural heritage
   
State plans closer ties with UNESCO
   
Quake razes one of jewels of Iranian heritage
   
UNESCO, China sign memorandum on education
   
China adds three more sites to World Heritage List
  Feature  
  Xu Wei: Every minute is fresh  
Advertisement