(On the morning of February 3, the opening of characteristic street featuring Xilu intangible cultural heritage was held.)
On the morning of February 3, the opening of characteristic street featuring Xilu intangible cultural heritage was held, accompanied by the launching of 2024 Huaihua Folk & Spring Festival Activity featuring intangible cultural heritage. Xu Zhongjian, secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, was present and announced the opening of the street. Yuan Yueping, deputy director of the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, was present and delivered a speech. Zhang Yuansong, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the Municipal Party Committee, presided over the opening of the street.
(Xu Zhongjian, secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, Yuan Yueping, deputy director of the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, and others admired the exhibits featuring Xilu intangible cultural heritage in the street. Photo / Yang Zhiwei )
Yuan Yueping said in his speech that Huaihua is rich in intangible cultural heritage resources, complete in types, and distinctive in features. Huaihua Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government attach great importance to intangible cultural heritage, put forward the goal of developing Ecological Reserve for Wuxi Culture, give full play to the advantage of intangible cultural heritage resources, and keep alive the intangible cultural heritage, render such heritage involved in the development of Huaihua City, make the intangible cultural heritage project a highlight of the city and comprehensively bolster the urban pattern. The project about the characteristic street is worth recommending, for it is characterized by exhibition, show, leisure, amusement and consumption; thereby, citizens and tourists can experience the cultural vitality that has lasted until now, and for the beauty of life can be coruscated with the beauty of intangible cultural heritage; besides, the spiritual home is precipitated by the root of culture and the feelings of craftsmen. It is hoped that Xi Jinping thought on culture will be carried on deeply and the goal of “integrating the intangible cultural heritage into contemporary life” will be upheld, promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of the intangible cultural heritage, hoping to find out the connection between traditional culture and contemporary life so as to make the heritage become the organic existence of social and cultural activities, thus letting the heritage popular and lively.
At the opening ceremony, Vice Mayor Hu Chen released the 2024 Huaihua Spring Festival Cultural Travel consumption season and Cultural Travel Consumption Map. The persons in charge from Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism as well as Huaihua Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Broadcasting and Sports, and representatives adept in intangible cultural heritage jointly launched the cooperation in terms of enlivening the downtown through the intangible cultural heritage and characteristic street featuring Xilu intangible cultural heritage.
After the opening, the leaders and guests at the meeting admired the skills exhibition regarding intangible cultural heritage in the characteristic street.
The characteristic street featuring Xilu intangible cultural heritage is an integrated part in the initiative to enliven Huaihua downtown through Huaihua intangible cultural heritage. At present, the street is home to 10 categories in reference to intangible cultural heritage like Jietan tea, home-made moon cakes, Dong medicine massage, Wushui-styled paper-cut, Longyao earthen pottery and others. In line with the theme of “experiencing the heritage, earning the points and get much enjoyment”, four major exhibition areas as regards to intangible cultural heritage are set up at the scene, such as skills display, tasting of characteristic food, project experience, and interaction of art performance. Inheritors at different levels are invited to show colorful skills in making products and the the performance featuring intangible cultural heritage for citizens and tourists. During the period of the activity, double-stage flash show will be held that the whole city’s folk art organizations help the heritage to enliven the downtown, and the programme of “Spending Spring Festival Together—Spring enters all families and a play exists in Huaihua” will be staged in the characteristic street.
(Translated by Yang Sigui）