China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has announced the country’s plans for this year’s Cultural and Natural Heritage Day (CNHD).
The CNHD is an annual week-long celebration that commemorates traditional Chinese culture and customs and it falls on the second weekend of June.
This year’s CNHD will begin on June 9.
During a regular press conference held in Beijing on Tuesday, the ministry said exhibitions on Chinese folk music and instruments will be held in the Northern city of Tianjin from June 8 to 14. Related discussions on folk music preservation will are also on the agenda, and that this, together with the exhibitions, will help to kick-start the celebration.
Other events including folk art performances, discussion forums and exhibitions will be held in the southern province of Guangdong.
The ministry said details of the activities will be updated onto the ministry’s website and social media platforms in the coming weeks.
Wang Chen Yang, Deputy Director of Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage, said over 3,700 nation-wide activities, including an exhibition and discussion forum on the Maritime Silk Road, which is part of the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), will be held this year to both highlight and raise awareness of China’s efforts to protect its intangible heritage.
China’s State Council adopted Cultural Heritage Day in 2006 and it was renamed to Cultural and Natural Heritage Day in 2016.
The first celebration of CNHD took place in 2017.
Currently China has 39 elements on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
