Grand Canal Culture and Tourism Expo opens in Yangzhou

113 intangible cultural heritages on show

Huaduhui Eco-Park in Yangzhou launched an exhibition of intangible cultural heritages related to the Grand Canal on May 4, such as the Guangling Guqin School, Yangzhou woodblock printing, Jinling woodblock of engraving and printing Buddhist scriptures and Suzhou Kesi waving techniques.

Gu Hongxia, director of the public culture and tourism service department of Yangzhou Bureau of Culture and Tourism, said the exhibition displayed 113 intangible cultural heritages, including seven in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The centerpiece of the exhibition includes the Menghe Axe Rock potted landscape dedicated to the Grand Canal. It took Wei Darong and his son Wei Yuyu, both craftsmen known for making the potted landscape with the unique Menghe Axe Rock, six months and 18 tons of rocks to finally create the 18-meter-long artwork. A unique production from Xiaohuang Hill in Menghe Town in Changzhou, under the administration of Yangzhou, the grotesque rocks look like they are chopped by axe after being eroded by the Yangtze River and gale for a long time.