Intangible Cultural Heritages Boost Culture-Tourism Integrated Development in Weinan

Sitting along the western bank of the Yellow River and at the foot of Mount Hua, the city of Weinan in Shaanxi, a cradle of the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization, is a rich and populous place with abundant produce. It nurtured the splendid farming civilization, and also various folk arts and traditional handicrafts, making itself famous for traditional opera, drum dance and craftsmanship. In recent years, while inheriting and preserving cultural heritages, the city has strived to combine intangible cultural heritages with modern life and create self-generated impetus for integrating culture with tourism so as to boost local development.

A performance of Tongzhou Bangzi Opera. [Photo: Zhao Junzhe]

With a rich history and culture, Weinan has nurtured a large variety of folk cultures with unique characteristics, creating an abundance of intangible cultural heritages, including one UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage and 15 national heritages, the largest number in Shaanxi. It also has 109 heritages at the provincial level and 287 at the municipal level, ranking among top cities in the province by the number and variety of intangible cultural heritages.

A foreign journalist learns to play Chinese dulcimer, also known as yangqin, a musical instrument used in Tongzhou Bangzi Opera. [Photo: Zhao Junzhe]

Meantime, through international cultural exchange activities, including the visits by the Huayin Laoqiang Opera troupe to the United States and New Zealand and the performances of Huazhou Shadow Play at the opening ceremony of the 1st Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival and the Boao Forum for Asia, Weinan’s intangible cultural heritages have earned a good reputation while helping to present the city to the world.

While trying to present its intangible cultural heritages to the world, Weinan has also taken a slew of measures to carry out the Intangible Cultural Heritage Plus strategy, aiming to boost local socioeconomic development while reviving cultural heritages through inheritance and innovation.

A performance of Huazhou Shadow Puppetry. [Photo: Liu Honghua]

A performance of Heyang Marionette Play. [Photo: Feng Yan]

Huazhou Shadow Play that dates back over 2,000 years to the Qin and Han dynasties is regarded as the “father of Chinese operas” and the “ancestor of movies.” In recent years, it has become a major industry in Weinan. The Huazhou Shadow Puppetry Cultural Park has emerged as a hub for classic shadow plays from across the country and the province, a playhouse for traditional Huazhou shadow puppetry performance and a base for promoting the cultural heritage.

Weinan has also organized intangible cultural heritage shows at scenic spots, such as the performance of Tongzhou Bangzi Opera on the Tongzhou Lake in Dali and Heyang Shadow Play performed at the Hechuan Scenic Area, a move that aims to both rejuvenate intangible cultural heritages through the interaction with tourists and add cultural and artistic elements to natural sceneries.

Foreign journalists visit the Huazhou Shadow Puppetry Cultural Park. [Photo: Liu Honghua]

The development of the Yaotou Kilns Cultural Tourism Ecological Park that boasts the centuries-old technique of making ceramics was a successful attempt to industrialize intangible cultural heritages. Situated in Chengcheng County, the park has made remarkable progress in protecting and inheriting the craftsmanship of making ceramics, industrializing black porcelain production and boosting tourism development.

Foreign journalists watch a craftswoman making a ceramic bowl at the Yaotou Kilns Cultural Tourism Ecological Park. [Photo: Chen Qiang]

While the “Go Global” strategy helps to present Weinan’s intangible cultural heritages and new image to the world and the “Bring in” strategy facilitates cultural exchanges and cooperation, the “Pass down” strategy aims to showcase the city’s cultural consciousness and self-confidence. The integrated development of intangible cultural heritages has played an increasingly important role in the development of Weinan that is trying to make new advancements in city construction and cultural development under the guidance of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Plus strategy.