Online broadcasting breathes new life to intangible cultural heritage promotion

Veteran artist Ding Chenyun performs gu qin at the meeting on Sept 1, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

On the morning September 1, when most people rushed to work, a man in traditional Chinese costume plucked strings, making music that made listeners calm and silent.

Ding Chengyun, the artist who played an instrument called gu qin – a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument – is a national inheritor of gu qin performing.

Along with him, another ten intangible cultural heritages (ICH) inheritors and some 30 representatives from online streaming companies got together in Beijing to discuss about the ICH promotion.

Organized by the Guangming Daily Website, the promotion has been creatively combined with online streaming and through the support from the Ministry of Culture.

According to Lu Xiangao, deputy editor of Guangming Daily, the website has made about 30 online broadcasting of 30 ICH heritors in a dozen of provinces from May to Aug.

The broadcasting attracted around 30 million viewers via Douyu, an online broadcasting company.

"In an era of internet, new media, such as online streaming, helps more people know those unknown intangible cultural heritages," Lu said.

The unexpected popularity of the streaming inspired both the inheritors and officials to plan further future promotion of the cultural heritages.