Intangible cultural heritage sports activities enter communities

Expat families and local residents were invited to experience intangible cultural heritage sports activities such as Wushu and Taichi in Pudong's Lujiazui community over the weekend.

This was the last stop for Shanghai Sports Bureau's "Intangible Cultural Heritage Sports In Communities" series of activities. Launched in 2022, the project aims to promote intangible cultural heritage sports to the general public and involve the participation of local residents, including foreigners.

A traditional dragon and lion dance raised the curtain for the event, which consisted of an intangible cultural heritage sports item showcase, as well as instruction and interactive sessions during which participants could communicate with the sports item inheritors and learn some basic postures and routines.

Zheng Tianzi and Shao Changhua, inheritors of the intangible cultural heritage sports items of Chin Woo and snake-shape Taichi, talked about the development of their sports and gave demonstrations for community participants.

"This is my first experience of an intangible cultural heritage-themed activity," said Shah Sangita Sudip, an expat from India. "This is an exciting eye-opener. I have learned quite a lot of movements from the Taichi master, and I will practice them at home too."

Ti Gong

The project has already visited communities such as the Nanqiao Science and Technology City in Fengxian District, Jiaxing Road community in Hongkou District, Zhaoxiang Town in Qingpu District, as well as Pudong's Nanhui area and Shanggang Xincun community.

Over the years, the Shanghai Sports Publicity and Education Center has found near 20 intangible cultural heritage sports items that originated from Shanghai. Apart from offline activities, they were also introduced to the public through social media in the form of stories and videos.

Ti Gong