Knowledge of China's cultural heritage imparted online amid epidemic

A set of online cultural heritage classes launched on Sina Weibo introduced 68 pieces of intangible cultural heritage, with those concerning martial arts and traditional crafts particularly favored by netizens, the People's Daily reported Monday.

Under the guidance of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the programs, with over 1.7 billion views on Weibo, were launched by intangible cultural heritage protection associations across the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.

"Once up to 2.4 million people learned martial arts online," said Liu Suibin, a representative trustee of Qingcheng martial arts who has committed himself to publicizing Chinese culture on Weibo for many years.

Yin Liping, a master craftswoman with Chengdu lacquerware, has been busy conveying the traditional art on video-sharing app Douyin, also known as TikTok.

Many young people do not know much about lacquerware, but they like it, Yin said, adding that she hopes to talk more about the traditional skill with the help of such emerging short video platforms.

Other channels such as TV and WeChat have also been used for publicizing cultural heritage during the epidemic.