The intangible cultural heritage crafts and products of Chongchuan district, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, have been well-received among consumers after undergoing much innovative development in recent years.

Among the crafts is indigo dyeing, a traditional coloring technique that involves using natural indigo dye to impart a blue hue onto textiles. Due to rapid industrial development, this traditional dyeing technique was once on the brink of extinction.

"Only through the practical application in daily life can we ensure the survival of traditional techniques," said Wang Haoran, a practitioner of plant dyeing.

Wang has been leading a team dedicated to the practical application of plant dyeing techniques in recent years. Their efforts have resulted in successful research and development of indigo dyes that can be directly utilized in industrial production.

Wang explained that traditional indigo dye typically contains a maximum of 5 percent effective components per kilogram. However, with the help of advanced technology, the extracted components can be concentrated up to 40 percent.

Apart from innovative development, the Chongchuan culture and tourism bureau regularly conducts public training programs during the spring and autumn seasons.

Over the past 10 years, the training programs have trained over 10,000 students.

Additionally, the bureau organizes annual intangible cultural heritage markets, facilitating interactions between the heritage items and the public.

Chongchuan currently boasts 100 intangible cultural heritage items, including six at the national level and 12 at the provincial level. Moreover, the district is home to over 200 representative practitioners of intangible cultural heritage.

One step in the process of indigo dyeing. [Photo/WeChat account: chongchuanonline]