The Shandong provincial department of culture and tourism convened a news conference on Jan 24 to unveil the main arrangements and schedule for this year's intangible cultural heritage month.

Themed around "ICH promotes poverty alleviation and rural revitalization", the event will last from Jan 28 to March 8, with about 685 activities, shows and performances being offered across the province’s 16 cities.

Three sub-venues, Yangjiabu village in Weifang, Taierzhuang ancient town in Zaozhuang and Baihuazhou scenic area in Jinan have been selected to host featured activities to promote the province's rich intangible cultural heritages.

The opening ceremony for the event will be held on Jan 28 at the Shandong Theater in Jinan, the province's capital city.

Designed with varied performances and promotions related to ICH, the opening ceremony aims to add the festive atmosphere around Spring Festival season as well as present stories about intangible cultural heritage inheritors.

Li Guolin, inspector of the Shandong provincial department of culture and tourism, also introduced the protection and inheritance work of the province's precious cultural legacy at the news conference.

To date, Shandong has eight projects ranked on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Heritage of Humanity, 173 on the national list, 751 on the provincial-level list, 2990 on the municipal-level list and 9369 on the county-level list. It now has 51 national-level inheritors, 296 provincial-level inheritors, 2063 municipal-level inheritors and 5916 county-level inheritors.

More than 6,000 intangible cultural heritage inheritors have been trained and appointed in Shandong and have official responsibility for carrying forward the province's intangible cultural heritage.

The Shandong provincial department of culture and tourism convenes a news conference on Jan 24 to unveil the main arrangements and schedule for this year's intangible cultural heritage month. [Photo/sdwht.gov.cn]

Li Guolin, inspector of Shandong provincial department of culture and tourism, delivers a speech at the news conference. [Photo/sdhbs.com.cn]