China builds over 9,100 intangible cultural heritage workshops to boost preservation, employment

FUZHOU, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- China has built more than 9,100 intangible cultural heritage workshops nationwide, spanning over 1,721 county-level areas, according to a meeting held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Longyan, Fujian Province, from Sunday to Tuesday.

These workshops have directly employed more than 270,000 people who were lifted out of destitution under the country's poverty alleviation campaign, offering them a per capita yearly income of over 36,000 yuan (about 5,006 U.S. dollars).

Relevant authorities have supported localities to leverage intangible cultural heritage in advancing rural revitalization, passing on fine traditional culture, boosting employment and income, and building better rural areas, said the meeting.

It called for efforts to improve the intangible cultural heritage protection system in rural areas, and raise both the quality and efficiency of intangible cultural heritage workshops.

Intangible cultural heritage workshops refer to various business entities or production and processing venues that rely on intangible cultural heritage and traditional craftsmanship to achieve the aim of preserving intangible cultural heritage and providing working opportunities for local people.