A hostess introduces a unique type of zongzi in Suichang county, Lishui during a live webcast. [Photo/tianmunews.com]

Lishui city in Zhejiang province, home to over 400 intangible cultural heritage (ICH) items that are recognized at different levels, has blazed a path toward common prosperity through the preservation of ICH.

The most effective way that the city is doing this is by developing ICH-related industries.

The city regards the opening of workshops as a vital measure, as they help boost employment and increasing people's incomes. The city has built eight provincial-level ICH workshops and 30 city-level workshops, taking advantage of the leading role of inheritors and enterprises.

Liushui has also created concentrated spaces for traditional craft production, training and exchange. Development models such as "workshops plus cooperatives" and "workshops plus enterprises" have proven to be effective in generating profits and other benefits. For instance, a tofu workshop in Songyang county achieved 1.2 million yuan in sales over the course of one year and created more than 200 jobs for local farmers.

Online sales channels for ICH items have also been expanded. During the Dragon Boat Festival last year, a live webcast in Suichang attracted more than 60,000 people in two hours and sold more than 2,000 cases of long zongzi, a type of sticky rice unique to the county.