June 8 marks China's eighth "Cultural and Natural Heritage Day". According to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, China currently has 57 World Heritage sites, ranking second worldwide. This includes 14 natural heritage sites and 4 cultural and natural dual heritage sites, both of which lead the world in number.
Cultural and natural heritage carry the genes and bloodline of the Chinese nation, sustaining the continuation and extension of Chinese civilization. In the process of protecting, inheriting, and utilizing natural and cultural heritage, the intellectual property (IP) system provides solid support, driving the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, allowing the wisdom of Chinese civilization to shine in the new era.
Technology empowers preservation and utilization of cultural relics
On June 8, the main event of the 2024 Cultural and Natural Heritage Day themed "Protecting Cultural Relics, Inheriting Civilization" was held in the host city Shenyang of Liaoning Province. A series of forefront innovative achievements in cultural relic excavation and protection were showcased, involving areas such as the origin tracing of metal materials and the active use and protection of traditional villages.
This year's Cultural and Natural Heritage Day saw over 7,300 related activities organized by cultural and museum institutions across different regions, involving over 3,400 public benefit services including research, exhibitions, and lectures, making the achievements in cultural relic protection and utilization available for all to share.
In recent years, museums have been using cutting-edge technologies to "awaken" the innovative and creative genes embedded in cultural heritage, driving a museum craze.
The National Museum of China (NMC) has taken the lead in using technology to keep cultural relics alive. It collaborated to produce the AI micro-drama "King Fuchai of Wu's Bronze Sword" in partnership with the Communication University of China, and created virtual digital humans "Ai Wenwen" and "Tong Gujin". Data collection is the key to management and development of cultural relics for museums. Li Huabiao, Director of the Data Management and Analysis Center at the NMC, told our reporter that the museum has a leading team for two-dimensional and three-dimensional data collection of cultural relics in China. The team consolidates collected data into a big data platform for artifacts, forming a data storage management system. By the end of 2023, the NMC had amassed 1.6 million two-dimensional image data and 7,000 three-dimensional model data of cultural relics, initially achieving the goal of a smooth data circulation.
Innovatively protecting rural specialities
This year's Cultural and Natural Heritage Day coincided with the Dragon Boat Festival, offering an array of geographical indication (GI) products and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) activities related to the festival. The traditional cultural essence of the festival deeply integrated with tourism development, showcasing vibrant vitality.
On June 10, the 2024 Cultural and Natural Heritage Day ICH promotion, exhibition, and sales main event of Gansu Province and the 19th Qingyang Fragrant Bag Folk Culture Festival were held in Qingyang City. Qingyang fragrant bag, distinct for its diverse expression techniques and rich ecological culture, was granted GI product protection in 2014. Over the years, Qingyang fragrant bags have become a symbol of Qingyang's distinctive folk culture, with over 100,000 people employed and products exported to more than 20 countries and regions.
As one of the key ICH events of this year's Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, the "Diverse Weather – Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Practice Theme Exhibition" opened at the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum, displaying over 600 items and sets from more than 100 Chinese national-level ICH representative projects. Among them, the "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Kite Group" and "Twenty-Four Solar Terms Dragon Head Kite", crafted over a month by inheritors of the national ICH project Weifang kite-making skills, hung in the exhibition hall, lifelike in form and dazzling in color, attracting visitors to take photos.
With the support of IP, today, the vibrant cultural heritage and majestic natural heritage are increasingly showing new vitality and vigor.