The “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day” Hangzhou Celebrations (Shangcheng), inaugurated at Hubin CBD on June 6, is an event aimed for disseminating the allure of intangible cultural heritages to the general public.

The event is organized by the city’s culture and tourism authority, and hosted by Hangzhou Cultural Center (Hangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center), Shangcheng District Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports, Hubin Sub-district Administration, and Shangcheng District Cultural, Commercial and Tourism Investment Holding Co., Ltd., and co-hosted by Shangcheng District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center.

It comprises five segments, including the Opening Ceremony, Showcase of China’s Traditional Culture, Heritage Fair, Exhibition & Show of Intangible Cultural Heritages, and a series of promotional exhibitions titled "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Communities."

The launch ceremony kicked off amidst a melody from Jiang’nan Sizhu, a sort of old, heritage instrument, performed by Hangzhou Art School. Then, actors and actresses from Hangzhou Comic Art Theatre took the center stage with a medley consisting of eight heritage folk operas, named “The Long Rhyme”. Dances were also in the spotlight - “The New Chapters” was staged with a first-time presentation of the city’s seven intangible cultural heritages, and “Dragons Over Qiantang”, a traditional theatric lion dance, brilliantly portrayed the thrills of the new age.... The spectacular won rounds of applauses from the audience.

The launch ceremony was also featured with awards and plaques presented to the sixth batch of the guardians of the city’s intangible cultural heritages and the first batch of the city’s traditional handicraft workstations and workshops.

The exhibition of traditional Chinese culture, hosted in synch with the ceremony, is also rich in content. “Tea and the World” allows tea heritage guardians to show to the visitors the most refined tea soup and snacks, “Charms of Silk” brings the entire stage into life with the traditional Chinese costumes, “TCM Gugus” has six national or provincial TCM guardians to offer free clinics service, and “The Stone & Seals” and “The Show of Emerald” invite people to access the local cultural heritages up close through personal involvement, which make it pleasant to eyes and ears.

Visitors can also dive into the bustling “Intangible Cultural Heritage Fair” that comprises 40 selected workshops. This offline market not only offers sales of workshop products but showcases the achievements of shared prosperity through intangible cultural heritage preservation, giving patrons a firsthand experience of these time-honored crafts and their economic impact.