Jinan to host shopping festival to mark Cultural and Natural Heritage Day

Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, will host grand celebration activities from June 8 to 10 at the Qianfo Mountain Scenic Area, including a shopping festival themed on intangible cultural heritage (ICH), to mark the 2024 Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, which falls on June 8.

Coinciding with the traditional Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on June 10 this year, the event will showcase a myriad of intangible cultural heritage crafts and traditions deeply rooted in the rich cultural heritage of the city.

With the tagline "Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage to Pass on a Historical Legacy and Create a New Chapter in the Era", the 2024 Jinan Intangible Cultural Heritage Shopping Festival aims to highlight the city's historical and cultural significance. By the end of June 2023, Jinan boasted 13 national-level ICH items, 108 provincial-level ICH items, and 565 municipal-level ICH items.

Visitors to the shopping festival are expected to immerse themselves in a wide array of traditional art forms, folk arts, traditional handicrafts and traditional medicine. This year's festival will feature nearly 80 ICH items, including themed areas focusing on exceptional culinary delights, engaging activities, captivating displays, and immersive experiences.

Highlights of the festival include showcases of Yellow River clay sculpture, Shandong embroidery, and tinware and ironware projects, along with a procession showcasing traditional knotting art and Shandong embroidery integrated into hanfu, or traditional Chinese clothing of the Han ethnic group.