Solidly promote the overall protection of intangible heritage

　　 [Expert Comments]

　　 Intangible heritage is an important part of excellent traditional culture. Protecting and inheriting intangible cultural heritage plays an important role in forging a solid sense of the Chinese nation’s community and enhancing cultural self-confidence. In December 2022, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader made important instructions on the protection of intangible cultural heritage, emphasizing the need to do a solid job in the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage, better meet the people’s growing spiritual and cultural needs, and promote cultural self-confidence.

　　 According to the data of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, up to now, there are 1,557 national intangible heritage projects and 3,062 national intangible heritage inheritors in China. There are 43 projects in China listed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, ranking first in the world. China’s overall protection of intangible heritage has achieved fruitful results.

　　 Intangible heritage protection is not easy. Because intangible cultural heritage itself has no physical form, and it has to rely on live transmission, it has become very fragile in the rapid changes of society. It is often futile to protect intangible cultural heritage projects and inheritors. In this context, the concept of "cultural and ecological protection zone" came into being. The Measures for the Administration of National Cultural and Ecological Protection Zones, which was implemented in 2019, pointed out that national cultural and ecological protection zones refer to specific areas with the protection of intangible cultural heritage as the core and the overall protection of cultural forms with rich historical and cultural accumulation, good survival status, important values and distinctive characteristics, and approved by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

　　 Up to now, there are 16 national cultural and ecological protection zones in China. Cultural and ecological reserves bear the internal motivation and suitable environment for the formation and development of intangible cultural heritage. Building cultural and ecological reserves is an important practice to implement the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage.

　　 The main protection contents of the cultural ecological protection zone are: first, to protect the intangible cultural heritage projects and representative inheritors; second, to protect the natural environment and human environment related to intangible cultural heritage; third, to protect and repair the cultural ecological system, and to maintain the balance of the cultural ecological system, so as to coordinate it with the regional natural ecological protection and economic and social development. To this end, we must adhere to the "two combinations" and build a cultural ecological protection zone that conforms to China’s national conditions, completely covers material and cultural heritage such as cultural relics protection units and historical and cultural cities, towns and villages, and takes intangible cultural heritage protection as the core. At the same time, it will link up national cultural parks and major national cultural engineering construction projects, activate the use of cultural heritage, and let intangible cultural heritage "see people, see things and see life".

　　 (Author: Zhou Jianming, a professor-level senior urban planner of China Urban Planning and Design Institute)