Cultural journeys through heritage

The Huawei platform fuses research, high-resolution images of the murals and three-dimensional virtual models with the physical Mogao grottoes. It not only re-creates actual tours of the scenic spot but also provides a new way to vividly experience the grottoes.

It can, for instance, more vibrantly present such elements as the nine-color deer portrayed in the frescos at close range, enhancing visitors' experiences of, and connection with, Dunhuang's art.

In Tongxiang in East China's Zhejiang province, visitors flock to workshops to learn how to make gusao cookies, a local specialty with more than 100 years of history.

The local authority added the provincial intangible cultural heritage form to study tours in 2017.

Zhejiang's Dongsha ancient fishing town has dug into its maritime culture to present a fishing festival. It also hosts a street that prominently displays local cultural items, such as fishbone paintings.

Popular study tours to Jiangxi province's Jingdezhen offer opportunities to view and participate in porcelain production.

Huiju Opera, green tea and paper-umbrella making in Jiangxi's Wuyuan have also lured travelers over the years.

In East China's Fujian province, the Yongding Tulou-the multifamily communal living structures originally designed for defense purposes-have seen architecture museums and folk-art workshops spring up around them to enable travelers to better understand the culture of this unique architecture.

The local government has also arranged for national-level intangible cultural inheritors of tulou construction and wanying tea-making to offer training to the public.

In Central China's Hunan province, the Yuhua Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum has displayed over 350 intangible cultural heritage items, drawing in 500,000 visitors over the 2018-19 period.

The museum helps folk artists train apprentices and enables visitors to learn related skills for free. It raked in 20 million yuan in income in 2018 and boosted local cultural consumption by about 90 million yuan the same year.

In Southwest China's Guizhou province, Matang village offers distinctive local costumes and dancing.

Many traditional-attire specialists, painters and photographers have visited over the years.

"Intangible cultural heritage-related travel has received excellent public reviews in recent years," says Zhang Qi, who's in charge of domestic tourism for China's largest online travel agency, Trip.com Group.

In 2020, private bookings for tours related to intangible cultural heritage doubled over the previous year, the agency says.

Sichuan Opera performances, Tibetan-spice processing, batik, shadow plays and thangka painting are particularly popular, Zhang says.