The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Thursday added traditional Li textile techniques, the Qiang New Year festival and traditional Chinese wooden arch bridges to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The full names of the three items are "traditional Li textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering," "Qiang New Year festival," and "traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges." All three were previously included in 2009 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
With a history of over 3,000 years, traditional textile of the Li ethnic group epitomizes the country's earliest textile practices and so is seen as a "living fossil" in Chinese textile history.
Traditional Li textile techniques involve four steps: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering. Li women are particularly adept at these techniques, turning cotton, hemp and other fibers into clothing items, including skirts and kerchiefs, as well as other daily necessities. The textiles play a vital role in the ethnic group's social and cultural occasions, especially in weddings. It's a tradition for Li women to design their own traditional wedding dresses.
The Qiang New Year Festival is the grandest and most important traditional festival for the Qiang ethnic group, usually falling on the first day of the tenth month of the traditional Chinese calendar.
Celebrating the harvest, sending blessings and praying for peace are the central themes of Qiang New Year, and the simple yet primitive ceremonial rituals create a uniquely rich cultural atmosphere that reflects the distinctive characteristics of Qiang culture.
Wooden arch bridges are a prominent feature in China's eastern coastal provinces, particularly Fujian and Zhejiang. These traditional bridges, featuring a blend of time-honored designs, traditional tools, and carpentry methods, use key techniques such as "beam-weaving" and mortise-tenon joint structure.
With the addition of these three items, China now has 44 cultural elements or practices recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity.
UNESCO inscribes 3 new Chinese cultural elements, practices on intangible cultural heritage list
UNESCO inscribes 3 new Chinese cultural elements, practices on intangible cultural heritage list
