With the theme of "Adhere to integrity and innovation, and polish the brand of intangible cultural heritage (ICH)", the 2023 Intangible Cultural Heritage Brand Summit kicked off in Guangzhou, China on March 23, which has been upgraded to a large-scale national event. Nearly 150 ICH brands attended the summit to explore new methods on branding and new paths on ICH inheritance and development, and achieve the new goal of high-quality development of traditional crafts.

ICHs compose of China's brilliant traditional culture and act as a powerful bond to promote civilization exchanges and mutual learning between countries. Ceramics, cloisonne, Suzhou embroidery and other ICH crafts have long been honored as "national gifts", showing China's profound legacy and remarkable fruits of ICH protection and inheritance. In recent years, China has been actively exploring the "ICH+" model to strengthen its branding and improve support measures for ICH inheritors, showcasing the unique charm of China's ICH development and inheritance to the world.

Branding is an important part of ICH innovation. As of date, many regions and departments across the country have introduced measures or organized selections to vividly present the ICH brands in a way that the public can appreciate, taste, wear, experience, buy, and learn. In many ethnic villages, the local authorities have organized the public to make ethnic handicrafts to increase incomes through cooperation between cooperatives and rural households.

The integration of China's ICHs and tourism industry also ignites shining sparks. Among the 2022 list of preferred projects for the national ICH and tourism integrated development released by the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Association, there are many projects with brand effects including the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, ICH Town of the Wudalianchi Scenic Area in Heilongjiang Province, and Anzi Miao Village in Chongqing, which provide the typical experience that can be copied and referred for the development of ICH brands.

At present, China ranks first in the world with 43 projects inscribed on the ICH list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). "ICH inheritance needs the big data thinking. China needs to strengthen the research and application of digital ICHs, accelerate the construction of a standardized system for ICH data and build up relevant databases, in a bid to speed up the process of ICH protection, inheritance and promotion," Liu Zhongbin, a researcher with Nanjing Library suggested.

Personnel training is a crucial way to strengthen ICH systematic inheritance. Tian Jing, a provincial representative inheritor of the national project for Jianshui purple pottery firing technique, has called for training of young trainees at vocational colleges many times, so that they can be groomed more properly as inheritors through systematic, long-term, high-quality training in mature workshops and learning centers.

As of date, China has identified 1,557 national-level ICH representative projects and 3,057 national ICH inheritors, according to the first-quarter press conference of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China. The total number of representative inheritors announced by authorities from the central to local levels has reached more than 90,000 till now. In recent years, China has designed and implemented a stretch of plans to train over 100,000 inheritors, for example the ICH archive project, revitalization plan of Chinese traditional crafts, research and training plan for Chinese ICH inheritors, and folk art inheritance and development plan.

For quality protection, inheritance and use of ICHs, every step must be taken. China's ICHs have gradually evolved based on creative generations of inheritance through vigorous practice, presenting a vivid picture of the new epoch and more profound heritage of Chinese ICHs to the world.

Jialu paper umbrella

Jialu paper umbrellas are delicate in hand making, exquisite in craftsmanship and unique in style. The birth of each umbrella is required to go through dozens of hand-made processes. In 2021, Jialu paper umbrella making technique was inscribed on the national ICH list. As tourism continues to recover, more and more foreign tourists have come to experience the making of paper umbrellas and felt the charm of traditional Chinese culture.

Yuzhang porcelain carving

Yuzhang porcelain carving is an art of "knocking" on porcelains. Just using a small hammer and a chisel nail, craftsmen can carve delicate lines and patterns on the porcelain plate with a combination of calligraphy, engraving and painting. In 2014, Yuzhang porcelain carving was inscribed on the city-level ICH list of Nanchang,Jiangxi Province.

Yingge singing

The Yingge singing and dance mixes dance, martial arts and opera with rough and unrestrained body moves and magnificent performance. In 2006, Yingge singing was ushered into the first batch of national ICH representative projects. Nowadays, many Yingge singing teams in Chaoshan (Guangdong Province) and other areas have opened their streaming accounts to develop cultural creations, and promote the inheritance and development of traditional culture.