Crossover cultural celebrations in Nansha

Guangzhou’s Nansha district held a conference on cultural and creative industrial development of intangible cultural heritage over Dec 27 to 29 to promote its local cultural charm in new fashionable ways.

The district rolled out crossover cultural and creative products integrating two local intangible cultural heritages -- the kylin dance (a traditional dance performance to celebrate festivals and pray for good harvests) and gambiered Guangdong gauze (a valuable silk fabric).

The products attracted attention immediately after their appearance. Many fellow-townsmen felt that the products added vitality to local cultural treasures and traditional heritages. In that way they provided new ideas for local cultural development and industrial upgrading.

Yu Qianqian, a teacher from the Art & Design School of Guangdong University of Technology, said that her team tried to combine intangible heritage elements with creative touches to develop various innovative products. It took them three months.

The male souvenir package consists of a corsage and a bookmark. The gold-filled corsage’s design was inspired of the kapok -- the city flower of Guangzhou. Its style and stamen are in the shape of a kylin’s head and whiskers, and the petals are made of the gambiered gauze.

The bookmark looks like a small cute kylin in cartoon image; its tassel is in sandy beige color -- the most common color of the gauze fabrics.

The female souvenir package contains a corsage and a lipstick. The corsage is the same as that of the male version. The lipstick is made from natural plants extracts; it is loaded with lots of anthocyanins, one of the most powerful antioxidants.

In addition, there is also a kind of notebook whose cover is shaped like a kylin’s head and scales, with the kylin’s ears made of the traditional gauze.