As a birthplace of Qi-Lu culture, Shandong has a profound historical heritage, and its stock of folk intangible cultural heritage (ICH) resources ranks among the highest in China. How to protect, inherit, and make good use of ICH is an important issue.

　　Recently, Qingdao, Shandong, opened the “Craftsmanship Sustains Cultural Roots, ICH Radiates New Splendor” Exhibition of Qingdao's ICH Protection and Development Achievements. From shell carving and mother-of-pearl inlay to Lu embroidery and paper-cutting, 43 Qingdao-distinctive ICH skills and nearly 400 works unfold through an interweaving of physical objects, texts and images, and video.

Image source: Qingdao Cultural Center

　　As of March this year, Qingdao has built 92 municipal-level ICH workshops; 57 enterprises and their products have been included in the “Shandong Handmade · Top 100” list; more than 130 enterprises have annual sales exceeding 1 million yuan; and the output value of key handmade industries such as embroidery, straw weaving, tea processing, cosmetics, mother-of-pearl inlay, and shell carving has reached 50 billion yuan.

　　From exhibitions to sales, this precisely reflects Shandong's current approach to ICH protection.