When the screen speaks to tradition: China's summer campaign connects cinema and intangible heritage
Three films, dozens of provinces, educational tours, and the revival of "qiaopi" — ancient letters with money transfers. The "cinema plus" campaign launched in Suzhou, using popular movies to tell stories of folk culture treasures.
As reported by CCTV+, on Thursday, China launched a summer campaign combining film screenings with activities focused on intangible cultural heritage, aiming to promote traditional Chinese culture through word‑of‑mouth about popular films. The campaign is jointly organized by the China Film Administration and the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The launch ceremony in Suzhou (Jiangsu Province, eastern China) featured three popular films: "The Secret Garden by the Grand Canal" — a documentary on preserving Suzhou's heritage; "Dear You" — a low‑budget film based on the story of "qiaopi" (letters and money orders sent home by Chinese living abroad in the 19th–20th centuries); and "Wan Tong Shu" — a film about a researcher dedicated to preserving the Muqam music of the Uyghur ethnic group.
The event introduced intangible heritage elements shown in the films and launched a series of "film plus" activities: educational tours, special travel routes, and ticket promotions. Li Yifu, director of the Shantou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports (the hometown of overseas Chinese), noted: "The film 'Dear You' is very popular. The scenes related to intangible heritage left a deep impression on audiences. After the film became a hit, many heritage‑related tourist sites in Shantou received a large number of visitors — people want to see with their own eyes the living heritage they saw on screen."
The China Film Archive launched a series of special screenings in Beijing and Suzhou. More than 10 provinces and regions, including Liaoning, Hunan, Jilin, Jiangsu and Xinjiang, will hold summer events: heritage‑themed film screenings, ticket promotions, and souvenir fairs.
Yang Fang, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Suzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said: "Intangible cultural heritage gives cinema unique aesthetic qualities and profound cultural depth. We will screen these films in schools and communities and promote them worldwide, so that more people, especially the youth, will fall in love with China's intangible heritage."
Intangible cultural heritage refers to traditions, crafts, rituals, oral expressions passed down through generations. "Qiaopi" was a unique remittance and letter system created by Chinese emigrants in the 19th–20th centuries. Muqam is classical Uyghur music inscribed on the UNESCO list. The "film plus" campaign is part of China's strategy to revitalize traditions through modern media.
Cinema is a time machine. It can transport viewers to an ancient garden by the Grand Canal, show a trembling hand writing a letter from a foreign land, or enchant them with a Muqam melody. But when, after the film, people travel to Shantou to see living heritage, a miracle happens: tradition ceases to be an exhibit. It becomes part of today. China's summer campaign is not just about film screenings. It is an attempt to tell young audiences: your culture is not in dusty showcases. It is in these frames, in these melodies, and in your willingness to watch, listen and remember.
