Traditional culture on Macao's menu

In September, Prince Kung's Palace Museum launched a plan to promote the dissemination of traditional Chinese culture in Beijing and Macao.

It centers on traditional culture with a contemporary expression, and aims to integrate traditional cultural elements with modern life through innovative contemporary design, fostering public interest and recognition of traditional culture.

The museum will draw on the successful redesign of its Anshantang Hall to create two interconnected cultural spaces — one in the museum itself, and the other in Macao's Ma Kok district.

Last year, cultural elements related to blessings and the 24 solar terms were added to the hall to convey the harmony between heaven, earth, and humanity, and to showcase distinctive cultural and creative products from the museum's collection.

Feng Nai'en, director of the museum, says that they are working to create a platform to bring traditional Chinese culture to a wider audience through exchange, mutual learning, and innovation.

The two spaces will be rooted in the historical and cultural heritage of both the palace and Macao.

The initiative seeks to promote the transmission and development of Chinese culture, enhance cultural exchanges between the mainland and Macao, and support the dissemination of Chinese culture, according to the authorities.

Additionally, both sides will promote intangible cultural heritage by organizing a variety of traditional cultural experience activities, such as intangible cultural heritage workshops, lectures, forums, and salons. The initiatives are designed to enhance the public's understanding and engagement with traditional Chinese culture.

Pansy Ho Chiu-king, global ambassador for the promotion of the Qiandongnan Miao embroidery industry and a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, says that the cultural promotion plan emphasizes innovation as its guiding principle, leveraging the century-old heritage and rich cultural legacy of Prince Kung's Palace Museum.

She says the goal is to help lend traditional Chinese culture a more international, lifestyle-oriented, and fashionable form, while boosting its influence.

Yet, it's not the first cooperative effort between Macao and the mainland to promote intangible cultural heritage.

Ho says that MGM 2049, the resident show at Macao's MGM Theater, which features intangible cultural heritage, will debut in December. The show has been created in collaboration with renowned director Zhang Yimou. The performers are currently in intense rehearsals, and hope to present a stunning spectacle, she says.

MGM 2049 consists of eight segments, each focusing on a form of intangible cultural heritage item, from Mongolian throat singing and northern Shaanxi storytelling, to Miao songs and yangko dance.

She says that some modifications have been made to the theater's stage to meet Zhang's needs, and that a full-scale stage was built in Beijing's Huairou district for rehearsals.

The premiere will be a tribute to the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and to the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland.

Using new technology and innovative methods, the show brings together intangible cultural heritage inheritors from around the country to showcase their stories through performances of music and dance, Ho adds.

She says that by exploring the cultural significance and values of different forms of heritage, Macao can inject vitality into its local performing arts industry, while also promoting Chinese culture to a wider audience.

Feng expresses his hope that the promotion plan will pay tribute to traditional Chinese culture with a more open and innovative approach.

By integrating traditional culture with modern technology and elements of fashion, both sides aim to make Chinese culture shine more brightly on the global stage, Feng adds.