Tracking China's culture

After graduating from senior high school in 2008, she spent three years mastering the skills and then traveled to different provinces, including Guangdong, Yunnan, Sichuan, Fujian, and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to earn a living by making the sugar figurines.

In 2006, the sugar figurine craft was listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage, and in 2019, Wang was granted the title of provincial-level inheritor.

"As far as I know, there are fewer than 100 people in China who can make sugar figurines, and even fewer are female inheritors," she said. "It is not easy to innovate an intangible cultural heritage item, but I will persevere."

Despite a long journey on a slow train from Harbin to Mohe, the nation's northernmost city in Heilongjiang, passengers recently got a chance to enjoy a unique tour of the region's intangible cultural heritage.

Before train K7041 left the Harbin Railway Station for its destination, five intangible cultural heritage inheritors from the Greater Hinggan Mountains region boarded the train.

They were invited to showcase Ewenki birch bark pyrography, dough sculpting, Oroqen mouth organ, folk songs and embroidery, making K7041 the first ethnic intangible cultural heritage train operated by China Railway Harbin Group.

"Heilongjiang has rich intangible cultural heritage, with items such as the Ewenki ethnic folk song, dough sculpting, and Ewenki birch bark pyrography from the Greater Hinggan Mountains region being selected as national or provincial intangible cultural heritage projects," said the team head Zheng Weihong, director of the region's art theater.

"With the continuous popularity of ice and snow tourism in the province, Mohe has become a hot destination.

"The themed train can display both the unique natural scenery and folk customs of the region, attracting more tourists from across the nation," he added.

Kang Jian attracted lots of spectators around his table.

Using wheat flour as a base, he adds some ingredients to make the dough, which is then shaped, kneaded and pinched by hand, or using simple tools such as scissors and bamboo sticks, to form lifelike sculptures.

"I chose locally produced black wheat flour for the dough, which is a low-gluten flour with less elasticity, but more toughness, making it easier to shape," said Kang, 35, a provincial-level inheritor of dough sculpting from Mohe.