China to launch online shopping festival to promote intangible cultural heritage

BEIJING — Chinese e-commerce companies will jointly hold an online shopping festival to promote the sales of products related to intangible cultural heritage (ICH). 

The shopping festival will be held on the upcoming Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, which falls on June 13 this year, with ICH-related units, enterprises and workshops promoting their handicrafts via internet platforms including Alibaba, JD.com and Suning.

ICH-related products, especially traditional handicrafts, satisfy the consumers' need for diverse and customized products, according to an official with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Noting the significant role of ICH in boosting employment and fighting poverty, the official said the event will support ICH inheritors, enterprises and workshops to overcome the impact of the coronavirus epidemic and advance the resumption of work and production.

Last year, the ministry started supporting the construction of ICH workshops across the country to help with the battle against poverty, leading to more than 2,200 projects that have generated nearly half a million jobs.