County in N China’s Shanxi province helps improve villagers’ life through traditional cultural industries

A teacher instructs a villager to make a Chengni inkstone in Guangcun village, Xinjiang county, north China's Shanxi province. (Photo/People’s Daily Online)

More local people in Xinjiang county, Yuncheng city in north China's Shanxi province have become craftsmen and found opportunities seeking employment or starting their own businesses near their homes, thanks to the government’s efforts towards boosting traditional cultural industries and enhancing the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage items in recent years.

Guangcun village in the county, for example, has set up a workshop to train villagers on the making of Chengni inkstones, a national intangible cultural heritage item. Nearly 100 local women attended a training session organized by the workshop on Aug. 25.