Dying heritage gets a new lifeline online

White Tara, a thangka painting that is included in the digital project by Baidu Baike to promote the country's intangible cultural heritage..[Photo provided to China Daily]

"The younger generation's tastes when it comes to traditional art also cannot be ignored, so newer platforms are needed to develop their potential."

Keeping this in mind, though some of the online thangka works are old, about 60 percent are done by young painters. And this Liang believes represents the recording of the contemporary development of an old art form.

She feels that painters can focus on their art and creativity without distractions only when a mature platform is established to ensure their livelihood.

Meanwhile, despite new developments, doing thangka art means following rules.

As Sonam Dawa, 25, a thangka artist says: "Thangka has many rules with regard to the accurate portrayal of figures and landscapes. One work could take a painter half a year. And some delicate ones even take a decade.

"Each stroke is full of the painter's emotions. The touch and feelings you experience with the physical works cannot be replicated in the digital versions."

Nevertheless, he says, the digital versions are important.

Echoing his views, Jin from Baidu says: "Once members of the public, who don't have much knowledge of thangka, begin to take interest in the art form through our platform, they may want to experience the intangible cultural heritage themselves. We hope to have more offline activities in the future. This is how traditions are noticed and protected."

Jin says the next step will involve expanding the project to include more examples of intangible cultural heritage from non-Han ethnic groups around the country.

The website has so far signed agreements with provincial intangible cultural heritage protection centers in Sichuan, Fujian, Yunnan and Shandong provinces, for example, to facilitate the digital propagation of the heritage.

"We hope the website will be a digital encyclopedia to let people better know the world," says Jin.

"As people's lifestyles change and industrialization increases, shaking up cultures, it is crucial to record endangered heritage via new platforms."