A teacher instructs students in making dyeing handicrafts at a middle school in Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, south China's Hainan Province, May 31, 2023. [Xinhua/Chen Kaizi]

HAIKOU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) — Li Junqi stared at the groove in the plank as he spun a stick at an accelerating pace, and then, with a gentle blow of air, smoke and flames appeared suddenly.

"Smoke, smoke," he exclaimed. After less than a month of learning and practice, the 13-year-old student was able to independently complete all the operations involved in drilling wood to light a fire, an intangible cultural heritage of the Li ethnic minority.

Each Wednesday, students are able to study a variety of projects featuring Li ethnic culture at the Capital Normal University Hainan Baoting experimental middle school in Baoting, south China's Hainan Province. The school cooperates with Capital Normal University to help enhance the former's education levels.

Workshops have been established on campus to teach students about the ancient Li ethnic culture, such as making the Li brocade, Li rattan weaving, drilling wood to make fire, and so on. Students can use these skills to make products of their own choosing.

The Li people in Hainan have established a distinctive culture over many years of development. Their culture includes Li brocade, bamboo dancing, face tattoos, and boat-shaped houses, among others. Some of their cultural elements, however, are gradually lost because there is no written language.

"We want to plant a seed of inheritance in the hearts of our children," said school principal Huang Zhengzhi. "For many years, the school has offered Li culture courses every semester." The purpose is to prevent the local culture from being forgotten, Huang explained.

The courses are just an epitome of growing local efforts to protect the ethnic culture in Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, home to 21 intangible cultural heritage projects and more than 100 registered inheritors. In recent years, the county has set up special courses or activities featuring intangible cultural heritage, as well as the Li and Miao ethnic culture, in more than 20 primary and middle schools.

In these courses, there are not only explanations of folk customs, but also practicing of traditional skills. The inheritors provide hands-on training, and the students create things based on their imagination. At the end of each term, there are assessments and awards.

By bringing intangible cultural heritage to school campuses and classrooms, students are given a chance to feel the charm of the Chinese culture. The activities were held to protect intangible cultural heritage and boost their innovative development, said local education official Gao Shulan.

Gao Huijuan, the county-level inheritor of the rattan weaving skills of the Li ethnic minority, is one of the experts passing on the cultural heritage in schools.

"This exquisite intangible culture cannot be lost, and needs to be passed down from generation to generation," Gao said. The next generation of inheritors is likely to be among these students, she said. Over the past two years, Gao Huijuan has taught more than 600 students.

The classes are not just about culture, but also about imparting life skills, said Wang Qinglin, one of the school teachers. "Skills such as drilling wood for fire allow the students to learn survival skills for the wild, recognize the principles of physics, sharpen their willingness, and cultivate their hardworking character."

"The children I work with start with traditional cultural skills and continue to innovate," said teacher Liu Lijiang, as she picked up a piece of dyeing work. "You see, they have begun to design modern patterns in the dyeing products. Sometimes I cannot even keep up with their unrestrained ideas."

Liu said the intangible cultural heritage class not only cultivates students' aesthetic taste, but also makes them more confident.

"Whether in classrooms or on campuses, the students learning the Li dyeing skills are willing to wear products with their own designs, and carry cloth bags designed by themselves," Liu said.

In the view of Liang Linlang, a student, signing up for the intangible cultural heritage courses allows students to better understand "love and friendship."

"For example, many students will make good ethnic products in advance and give them to their mothers on Mother's Day," Liang said.

By taking intangible cultural heritage to the campus, we hope to cultivate students with Hainan characteristics, Gao Shulan said. "Through inheritance and protection, the Li intangible cultural heritage is also radiating innovation and development."

(Source: Xinhua)