Ancient crafts dance to Spring Festival beat
In Hebei province, inheritors join with a host of others nationwide to delight visitors and residents alike
Li Zhishui, who visited Zhangjiakou with his family from Beijing in January, recalled his daughter's intense focus while trying pyrography on a small gourd.
"Feeling the heat and trying to control the lines — that's a connection you don't get from watching," Li said.
The cultural vibrancy brought by intangible cultural heritage virtually echoes through every part of Hebei. In Langfang, Beijing's neighbor, the massive Five-Good ICH Fair in early February has been a sensory feast, featuring diverse examples of local heritage from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
"It feels like a giant, joyful playground," said Wang Nan, 28, from Tianjin, who traveled to a similar fair with her family recently. She held up a small paper-cutting of a rabbit she made under a master's guidance.
"There were delicious food and incredible performances, and best of all you could roll up your sleeves and try things yourself. My nephew didn't want to leave the dough figurine booth," she said.
Wang Sicong from the Langfang cultural and tourism bureau said the city held about 30 hands-on experience sessions, providing kits of materials for visitors to learn skills through fun interaction.
The fair also featured friendly culinary competitions by chefs from around the region, showcasing traditional foods, such as dumplings and rice cakes, and weaving ancient arts into the overall festive experience.
Nor is it just Langfang that has seen how heritage draw tourists. Far from it, in fact. In Tangshan, a festival called ICH Celebrates the New Spring was held along the popular Hetou Old Street in early February. It fused tradition with the digital age.
Visitors wandered under dazzling heritage-themed lanterns, with children trying to mimic the shadows in an interactive shadow puppet booth. Livestreamers beamed the festivities nationwide, selling specialty New Year goods online.
Beyond Hebei, the Spring Festival spirit of cultural heritage is alive across the country. A major exhibition at the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum in Beijing will run until March 20, showcasing more than 100 representative ICH projects from all over China.
