“I have heard the call of the sea; I have seen the magnificence of the Great Wall; I have admired the majesty of Tiananmen Square in Beijing… But I never seen the “cultural beauty” of Qinhuangdao. The exhibition here is a real eye-opener for me and I am no longer a person of narrow view. Especially when I saw Jiang Yanhua’s paper cutting “First Pass Under Heaven”, I was shocked by the fact that the First Pass Under Heaven could be demonstrated in this way...” This is a message from Wen Jiayi, a third-grade student at Xigang Road Primary School. Recently, in addition to all-embracing display of heritage art at the Qinhuangdao Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition and Promotion Center, the reporter saw a thick message pad and there were many such messages.
According to Wang Haiyin, deputy director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Conservation Center of the Municipal Mass Art Museum, since the unveiling ceremony at the end of December last year, the Qinhuangdao Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition and Promotion Center has received a total of 13,000 visitors, many of who were organized by schools and community groups.
The rich and colorful intangible cultural heritage of Qinhuangdao is the crystallization of the wisdom of the people. It is the precious treasure handed down from the past generations, and the spiritual home of our harmonious symbiosis. In order to carry forward the excellent traditional culture of Qinhuangdao, promote the innovation of Intangible Cultural Heritage projects, push the development of Intangible Cultural Heritage industries and revive the Intangible Cultural Heritage, our city has built an Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition and Promotion Center which would be dedicated to showcasing the rich and colorful intangible cultural heritage of our city. The center consists of five sections: Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Area, Media Promotion Area, Interactive Experience Area, Forum Discussion Area and Product Sales Area. At present, the center has established the Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Gallery, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Academic Hall and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Creation Hall. It has become the shining window and the main venue where we can realize inheritance, protection and development of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Qinhuangdao.
According to Wang Haiyin, currently, five items from our city have been listed as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative, such as Changli Folk Dance, Changli Shadow Play, Legend of Meng Jiangnu, etc. Thirty seven items have been listed as the provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Representativ, such as Funing Paper-cut, Ancient Glaze, Ding Ji Rattan Chair, etc. One hundred and twelve items have been listed as city’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, such as Hand-made Silk Embroidery, Copper Carving Techniques, Wei's Pyrography, etc.
With the guidance and introduction of Wang Haiyin, the reporter viewed photographs and text displays of the five national intangible cultural heritage items, such as Changli Folk Dance, Changli Shadow Play, Changli Folk Songs, Hebei Wind & Drum Music (Funing), and Legend of Meng Jiangnu. The reporter fully understood the historic origin and the development context of these cultural heritage items.
In the Intangible Cultural Heritage Gallery, the reporter saw Funing paper cutting such as “The First Pass Under the Heaven” and “Ancient Shanhaiguan Customs Panorama”. The scenes were magnificent but meticulous. It was truly amazing. According to reports, Chinese paper cutting was selected into the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List in September 2009. It is a kind of art that scissors or carving knives are used to cut and engrave patterns on paper to decorate life or match folk activities. The inherited visual image and modeling format contain rich cultural and historical information. Qinhuangdao paper cutting is an important part of Chinese paper cutting. It features the characteristics of both the North and the South, and has distinct national and regional colours. There are many famous leading figures in Qinhuangdao’ paper cutting, such as Jiang Yanhua,Wang Junxiang, Qi Bing, Zhou Derong, etc. Among them, Jiang Yanhua is honored as “Chinese Skillful Woman” .
In the exhibition area, the reporter was attracted by a handmade silk embroidery work titled “Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival”. The grand scene is stitched in colorful silk thread. It is said that Yang Chunxiu, the framer, took 10 years to create it. It is really amazing for the exquisite craft, and even every figure and every branch in it is true to life. A Wei’s pyrograph called “Longing” also arrested reporter’s attention. It is hard to imagine that the work of pyrograph can create a telephoto portrait close-up effect. You cannot tear yourself away from it when you stand before it. The most striking is a Gourd sculpture. The surface of a large gourd is full of blossoming, shy, and flowery peony. It is so glamorous and radiant that looks alive as if the wind was blowing through it. It is really amazing that Chinese traditional art has its own ingenuity.
In the exhibition hall, traditional cuisine, shadow play, pyrography, lacquer painting, chisel characterization, sand painting... it is amazing to view a rich and colorful array of intangible cultural heritage. According to Wang Haiyin, the 10 categories of national Intangible Cultural Heritage items listed by the state are exhibited, except that Chinese Folk Art Forms have not yet been displayed for the time being. The other nine other Intangible Cultural Heritage items are very rich and diverse, such as traditional skills, music, art, drama, folk custom and so on. The starry picture wall of the inheritors is even more impressive.
According to an office worker, the exhibition hall has been open to the public free of charge. The opening time is from 8:00 to 23:00 every day. The citizens are welcome to visit at any time.