Holiday celebrations to focus on culture, heritage

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is offering support for cultural events across the country to enliven celebrations for the upcoming holidays.

While ensuring the public's health and safety is taken into consideration, the ministry is encouraging cultural activities, including village galas, folk performances, exhibitions and tours during the New Year holiday, from Dec 31 to Jan 2, and the Spring Festival holiday, from Jan 21 to 27.

More than 70 village galas are already being planned, including in Sanjianxi, Shandong province, Banyan, Qinghai province, and Simola Wa, Yunnan province.

The galas will be developed by farmers and showcase their local customs and culture as well as village charm and the beauty of the countryside, said Zhu Bo, an official with the ministry's department in charge of public cultural service.

The galas will be livestreamed on the online platforms culturedc.cn and tv.cctv.com.

The online launch ceremony for the livestreams will be held on Dec 30.

Demonstrations of intangible cultural heritage from different areas are also being prepared, the ministry said.

"We will mobilize and organize the intangible cultural heritage inheritors and practitioners to carry out a wide range of intangible cultural heritage demonstrations and related activities to find the connections between traditional culture and modern life," said Li Xiaosong, an official with the ministry's intangible cultural heritage department.

There are more than 200 national intangible cultural heritages that are related to the Spring and Lantern festivals, such as dragon and lion dances, papercut art and temple fairs.

The ministry will support full implementation of intangible cultural heritage activities nationwide to create a strong festival atmosphere, Li said.

Practitioners of outstanding intangible cultural heritage will also be encouraged to join the local village galas. Overseas Chinese are also being asked to contribute to the celebrations of hometown customs and intangible cultural heritage.