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A person learns from an inheritor (R) of bamboo weaving skill at the Bamboo Weaving Museum in Tongxiang, Jiaxing. [Photo/cnjxol.com]

Counties in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province, are expected to build one to two museums for local intangible cultural heritage items this year as part of efforts to protect local culture, Jiaxing Daily reported on March 10.

According to a recent promotional conference for the protection of the city's intangible cultural heritage, Jiaxing would have more than 50 museums for intangible cultural heritage items at national, provincial, municipal, and county levels by 2025. The influence of intangible cultural heritage item inheritors would also be further improved by that year.

The first of such museums in the city, the Bamboo Weaving Museum, was established in Tongxiang, which was ranked second provincewide in terms of the protection and development of intangible cultural heritage.

Tongxiang will also establish more museums exclusively for local intangible cultural heritage items, including blue calico, wheat straw patchwork, and rattan plaited items.

In early 2021, the city set up the Jiaxing Intangible Cultural Heritage College, the first of such schools in Zhejiang built by the local authority and a university.

Jiaxing is currently home to 15 national-level intangible cultural heritage items, 70 provincial-level intangible cultural heritage items and two UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity crafts - silk weaving techniques and shadow puppet show.