On the afternoon of December 1st, amid the graceful Jiangnan music and the dancing snowflakes, Hangzhou Art School “Jiangnan Sizhu” Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Center was unveiled at the Hangzhou branch of China Vocational Education Association.

“Jiangnan Sizhu”, also known as “Qingyin”, refers to the folk music produced by silk- (si) and bamboo-made (zhu) musical instruments in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. Being “small” (refers to the size of the musical instruments), light, exquisite and graceful, the music is characteristics of the culture of Jiangnan canal towns. In 2008, “Jiangnan Sizhu” was included in the extended list of China’s first batch of national intangible cultural heritage.

Hangzhou Art School, the only government-run vocational art school in Hangzhou, is best known for its folk music subject. The faculty orchestra and two student orchestras from the school performing “Jiangnan Sizhu” have won many awards in music competitions both in and outside Zhejiang, and conducted cultural exchanges in countries worldwide such as the UK, the US, France, Argentina, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. In April 2013, Hangzhou Art School was designated as the protected site of “Jiangnan Sizhu”, and in October 2019, it was accorded another role: Hangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Center.

At the unveiling ceremony, the school’s teachers performed the traditional Chinese music piece, Moon Night on the Spring River, rendering the melodious and graceful “Jiangnan Sizhu” to the audience onsite.