AcrossChina:Innovationsbreathenewlifeintomillennium-oldintangibleculturalheritage_GuangmingOnlineAcrossChina:Innovationsbreathenewlifeintomillennium-oldintangibleculturalheritageHEFEI,March13(Xinhua)--FeaturingmotifsrangingfromlunarcraterstoNintendo'sretrogamesandBruceLee'siconicstance,themillennium-oldHuiinkstick,anessentialiteminChinesetraditionalpaintingandcalligraphy,shinesunderthelive-streamingspotlight,transcendingantiquatedperceptionsandshatteringthestereotypeofbeingoutdated.SpearheadingtheevolutionofthistraditionalChinesestationeryitemisXiangSong,34,thefourth-generationheirofthiscraft,whohasinfuseditwithacontemporarytwist.ThesetraditionalHuiinksticksaremainlycraftedineastChina'sAnhuiProvince,henceearningthemoniker"Hui"ink,astheregionwasoriginallyunderthejurisdictionofHuizhouinancientChina.TheHuiinksticksareprimarilycomposedofthesootproducedbyburningpinetreesortungoil,withglueasthemainingredient,supplementedbyvariousmineralsandChineseherbalingredientsintheformulation.Itundergoesameticulouscraftingprocessinvolvingdozensofsteps.LikemanyothertraditionalcraftsembodyingtheessenceofancientChineseculture,Huiink-makingfadedintoobscurityasthecountryprogressedtowardmodernization.However,withtheburgeoningofsocialnetworksandlive-streamingplatforms,anincreasingnumberofyouthshaveturnedtheirattentiontotraditionalintangibleculturalheritagesandareintegratingthemwithvariousmodernelements.OnesuchexampleistheHuiinkstickcraftedbyXiang'sfamily.SomeinheritorsoftheintangibleculturalheritageinXiang'shometownofShexianCountyinAnhuiProvincehavealsoshiftedtowardsdevelopingproductswithayouthfulappeal,utilizingtheinternetformarketingwithnotablesuccess."Thankstotheinternet,somanyyoungpeoplearenowinterestedinHuiinksticks.Iplantodesignuniqueproductsforthem,"Xiangsaid,pointingtohislatestcreation.Boastingawealthofintangibleculturalheritageresources,thiscountyishailedasthe"HometownofHuizhouCulture,"adistinctiveregionalcultureimbuedwithtraditionalChinesescienceandtechnology,education,operaandarchitecture.Thecountyishometo170representativeintangibleculturalheritageprojects,includingsixatthenationalleveland24attheprovinciallevel.InShexianCounty,whilepreservingthecoretechniquesandmaterialsofintangibleculturalheritage,innovatingtheappearanceandsaleschannelsofheritageproductshasemergedasanewapproachformanyinheritors."Thisteatray,cupholderandpendantarecraftedusingtheSheinkstonecarvingtechnique.Moreinnovativeheritageproductsarecomingsoon,"saidChengLihui,arepresentativeinheritoroftheintangibleculturalheritageofSheinkstonecarving,asheintroducedtheproductstothelivestreamviewers.AccordingtoCheng,thesecreativelyredesignedproductsnotonlycomewithmoreaffordablepricesbutalsoofferpracticalvalue,greatlyappealingtoyoungpeople,especiallywhencomparedtotraditionalinkstones.Chengsaidheisverythankfulfortheadventandpopularityoflive-streaming."Inthepast,manyintangibleculturalheritagesstruggledtocapturetheattentionoftheyoungergeneration.However,throughlive-streaming,inheritorsofintangibleculturalheritagecanengagedirectlywithaudiences,sharetheirskills,andgatherfeedbacktooptimizeproductdesign,"headded.Afterimprovingproductdesign,Chenghassoldproductsnationwidethroughonlineplatforms,withonelive-streamingeventgeneratingsalesofover300,000yuan(about42,295U.S.dollars).Inadditiontoinnovatingproductionmethodsandexpandingsaleschannels,inrecentyears,Shexianhasintegrateditsuniqueintangibleculturalheritagewithruraltourism,utilizingonlineplatformstoenhancebothsectors.In2023,thecountyhosted45culturaltourismevents,attractingoveronemillionvisitorsandgeneratingtourismrevenueexceeding320millionyuan."Inthefuture,Shexianwillcontinuetoleveragetheinternettodevelopmoreintangibleculturalheritagedigitalproducts,anddeepentheproductizationofintangibleculturalheritages,"saidWangXiaojuan,deputydirectoroftheculture,tourismandsportsbureauofthecounty.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.