Int'l intangible cultural heritage festival to open in Chengdu

By Sichuan Daily?

The Sixth China (Chengdu)International Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival will be held from June 10 to 18, according to the information office of Chengdu municipal government.

The event, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sichuan provincial government, UNESCO and China National Commission for UNESCO, consists of a wide range of activities including exhibition, conference and meeting, completion and performance.

Millions of Chengdu residents are estimated to take part.

As a highlight of the festival, various exhibitions will be presented, covering the traditional handicraft contest, innovation in developing intangible cultural heritage, international intangible cultural heritages, chronicle of events of the Convention of the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and handicraft making from 20 of Belt and Road countries.

In addition to a grand opening ceremony, “A cosmopolitan gathering: exchange, mutual learning and harmonious development,”one of the festival’s sections, will also arrange traditional performances from 13 countries including Italy, Russia, Australia, Ukraine and Fiji.

The section dedicated to Chinese drama is composed of performances b 34 select teams in traditional music, dance, drama and folk art.

The festival is China’s only international cultural event with consistent participation from UNESCO. This year’s edition will be attdned by 105 countries, regions and international organizations.

The number of international representatives is expected to exceed 500, About 2,600 representatives, inheritors and performers will stage shows during the festival. More than 100 intangible cultural heritage items will be shown in various ways.

To enable more common people to enjoy the festival, Chinese traditional performances will be staged in communities and a number of branch venues have been selected.

34 traditional performance teams will present nearly 400 shows of various forms and strong interaction.

The festival, a biennial event, has seen participation from an increasing number of countries and he signing of a number of contracts with contract value continuing to grow.