Inheritors of National Intangible Cultural Heritage

The National-level Intangible Cultural Inheritor project aims at protecting traditional culture while also recognizing outstanding individuals in order to encourage more people to become involved in promoting and developing China’s intangible cultural heritage. Being recognized as an inheritor involves a strict screening process, which includes a preliminary assessment by experts in cultural heritage and a second assessment by a review committee. China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism released five national-level cultural inheritors in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2018, respectively. Up to now, there are a total of 3,068 national-level cultural inheritors of the five batches, among which 2,327 are male and 741 are female. 

1. National-level Intangible Cultural Inheritors Batch by Batch

2. National-level Intangible Cultural Inheritors Category by Category

Category Numbers of Inheritors
Folk Literature 123
Traditional Music 380
Traditional Dance 298
Traditional Opera/Theater/Drama 784
Narrative/Storytelling Traditions 207
Traditional Sports, Recreational Activities and Acrobatics 88
Traditional Arts 378
Traditional Handicraft Skills 518
Traditional Medicine 132
Folk Customs 160

3. Regional Distribution of National-level Intangible Cultural Inheritors 

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