Taking steps to promote coexistence and social development

Paying close attention to local ethnic groups' cultural protection and living environment, Northwest China's Qinghai province has made great strides in promoting multicultural coexistence and boosting economic and social development.

With ethnic groups making up 47 percent of its total population, Qinghai is a province of multi-ethnic gathering, multireligious coexistence and multicultural integration.

Therefore, the integrated development of all ethnic groups is the cornerstone of the province's economic development and social stability, according to the local government.

Statistics of the Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism show that by the end of 2018, the province had six items listed among intangible cultural heritage of humanity, and 73 national-level and 253 provincial-level intangible cultural heritage items.

As the only province nationwide with three national-level experimental areas of cultural ecology protection so far, Qinghai has taken the lead in protecting local culture, according to an official at the Qinghai Tibetan Buddhism research center.

Due to rapid changes in the natural and social environment, some intangible cultural heritage cannot find a proper use in modern life, resulting in a danger of losing inheritance, experts said.

To solve the problem, the Golog Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Qinghai province introduced a three-year plan of training 1,000 people in intangible cultural heritage crafts in 2016.

The autonomous prefecture has held 14 training sessions on intangible cultural heritage, involving more than 740 participants.

By collaborating with top universities in China, the Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture in the province has made efforts to promote the sustainable development of intangible cultural heritage.

Last year, the autonomous prefecture organized 30 inheritors of traditional Yushu costume to visit to the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology.

In 2017, 20 inheritors of local Tibetan traditional craft from Yushu got the opportunity to visit the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University.

Development is the key to solving various problems in ethnic areas, Qinghai officials said. The province has stepped up efforts to develop the local economy.

In 2018, the province allocated a total of 440 million yuan ($62.89 million) as special support funds to promote economic and social development, which has yielded positive results, according to the local government.

By establishing a communication and cooperation platform for local industries, Qinghai contributed to collaboration between 652 private enterprises and 1,430 poverty-stricken villages.

A total of 900 million yuan has been invested in projects, industrial support and donations, benefiting 154,000 people from all ethnic groups.