Price is right for heritage

Event is part of yearlong campaign to get more people into culture by using today's commercial platforms, Yang Feiyue reports.

As the morning sun spills across the tiered courtyards connected by stone stairs at the Datang Gong (Tribute) Tea House in Yongxing county, the grand Tang-Dynasty (618-907)-styled architecture built along the mountainside instantly transforms into a vibrant living stage of craftsmanship, aroma, and artistry.

The rhythmic clink of chisels on stone, the gentle whoosh of calligraphy brushes, and the alluring scent of hand-ground tea and medicinal herbs have packed in visitors to the county in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province.

Dressed in traditional attire, the gracefully poised inheritors patiently guided curious visitors through their rich legacies — offering handson experiences or sharing samples to delight their taste buds.

These events marked the opening day of the second quarter's intangible cultural heritage revival shopping month on April 20.

This national event is part of the yearlong intangible cultural heritage revival campaign to promote cultural consumption.

Ke Zhizeng elicits bouts of cheers and applause from the audience as he does stunts with a bamboo tray during the launch ceremony for the shopping month.

Dozens of identical dough discs lie motionless on its surface, blanketed by a layer of sesame seeds. Then, with a flick of his wrists, the cakes take flight, obeying some invisible orbital pull.

Midair, they flip with military precision before plunging back into the sea of sesame seeds.

"The whole point is to cover them in an even sesame crust," explains the man in his late 30s who has practiced the craft for more than a decade.