Two villages in Dongyang, a county-level city in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang province, made the first list of provincial culture and art villages, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced on June 15.
The two villages were Huashui town's Huanan village and Hulu town's Caizhai village.
Huanan village, which is an important birthplace of the Chinese knot, a national intangible cultural heritage, has been leveraging its unique cultural resources to advance the rural vitalization drive.
The village established a common prosperity workshop for Chinese knots, which are made by residents including women, people with disabilities and seniors to help them increase their incomes. The per capita income of the village's residents in 2022 increased by 25,000 yuan ($3,454.53).
Caizhai village has a history of more than 700 years and has been shortlisted as a Chinese ancient village. The village is best known for its folk culture such as stilts, puppet shows, drums, and the dragon dance.
Stilts are part of Dongyang schools' physical education curriculum, which will play a significant role in protecting and inheriting the traditional technique.
