Woodprint pictures making a comeback

For the project, professional designers from the Palace Museum's shop combined pop-culture elements such as cartoon images with traditional craftsmanship to attract younger people.

Craftsmen like Guo then created works based on the new designs.

When pictures of these heritage items associated with the Spring Festival, such as those showing the "dragon and phoenix bringing prosperity", were promoted on Taobao in January, they drew huge public interest.

In the first few days, more than 10,000 people participated in the project, raising a total of 350,000 yuan ($53,000) to successfully launch five separate crowdfunding initiatives, respectively for New Year woodprint pictures, paper-cuts of Gaomi in East China's Shandong province, steamed buns from nearby Jiaodong city and handmade cloth shoes and pillows.

"I thought New Year pictures were only about the god of fortune or 'door gods'. I didn't expect them to be so cute," says Tang Yan, one of the participants in the crowdfunding project.

So far funds raised for the New Year woodprint pictures have surpassed 50,000 yuan. According to the amount they pay, sponsors will get different benefits, including pictures made by Guo.

"The crowdfunding for intangible cultural heritage is just the beginning of a series of efforts to protect and rejuvenate such heritage, taking advantage of the Internet," says Alibaba's Li Xiang, who is in charge of the project.

"It's not true that we don't need the old crafts anymore. But the old crafts need some new carriers and ways of spreading."

"With the help of the Internet, we hope that we can reclaim the traditional Spring Festival atmosphere and help more elements of intangible cultural heritage return to ordinary Chinese families," he adds.