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The “Intangible Cultural Heritage” (ICH) means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

With the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the deepening understanding from the international community on the definition of development, growing attention has been paid to the multidimensional role of culture and heritage in promoting sustainable socio-economic development. Since China’s Thirteenth Five-Year Plan period, priorities in culture work have included giving full play to the advantages of ICH resources in driving urban and rural employment, alleviating poverty and increasing income. A series of measures were taken, including the implementation of the National Research and Training Programme for ICH bearers and the China Traditional Handicraft Revitalization Plan, which aim to empower ICH bearers in employment and self-development. During the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan period, ICH safeguarding and transmission are comprehensively integrated into the rural revitalization strategy and continues to play a major role in sustainable economic and social development.

Transforming cultural resources into creative industries products with local characteristics requires the innovative combination of ICH skills with the modern market economy, means of production and lifestyles, which is not an easy process. As craft products emerge as a new niche market for urbanites, many ICH practitioners face the challenge of how to effectively adapt their traditional products to the taste of their new clientele, and how to effectively gain the public’s buy-in for these new cultural products.

The 15-day workshop was consisted of lectures and extensive hand-on tutoring, which comprehensively enhanced participants’ capacities in designing practical products that synergizes local ICH elements and preferences of the consumer market from the angles of creative pattern design, product and packaging design, modelling and rendering, and sample-making. Participants also undertook field visits to institutions that have an established foundation and influence in the field of culture creative product development, including the Suzhou Museum, the Nanjing Museum, the Pingjiang Historic District, Eslite Bookstore and the Taohuawu Woodcut New Year Pictures Society, through which they enhanced awareness and broadened visions on brand-building.

Through the workshop, participants also gained a deeper understanding of how to raise public awareness and increase consumption of local ICH and specialty products, and to revitalize rural areas through culture.