On the morning of April 7, a workshop for the national-level intangible cultural heritage (ICH) inheritors along the Grand Canal was opened in Suzhou, attracting more than 100 ICH inheritors from 6 provinces and 2 cities.
The 4-day workshop will invite Hu Yan, deputy director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and ICH experts Wang Yan, He Yun’ao, and Wu Yaoyu to give lectures. In addition, the organizer will arrange thematic lectures, case studies, and student salons for the trainees who will also visit Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum and Su Embroidery Town.
As an important historical and cultural city along the Grand Canal, Suzhou has 5 old sections of the Canal and 7 cultural heritage sites. It has 9 classical gardens inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO and 6 items of intangible cultural heritage including Kunqu Opera and Guqin selected into the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The city boasts 50 national-level ICH inheritors.
Suzhou has been making great efforts to increase the popularity of the “Jiangnan Culture” brand, promote the inheritance and protection of the heritage of the Grand Canal, build “Ten Scenes of the Grand Canal in Suzhou”, and develop its nighttime economy brand “Gusu 8:30 p.m.” to boost local cultural and tourism industries.