The 3rd ICH-themed writing contest awards ceremony held in Sichuan

On Dec 10, the awards ceremony for the third "Reading Intangible Cultural Heritage" writing contest themed on traditional Chinese crafts, culture, and arts was held at the Sichuan Newspaper Museum in Chengdu. The event was jointly hosted by Prince Kung's Palace Museum and China Literature.

This year's contest received over 70,000 submissions, with many writers from younger generations, exploring intangible cultural heritage (ICH) through contemporary storytelling. The entries covered a wide range of fields, including traditional craftsmanship, traditional sports, folk customs and performing arts.

The gold prize was awarded to Flavors of Sichuan (Chuan Wei Ren Jian) by post-1995 writer Qingyu Jianghu, while three works won silver prizes and six works received bronze prizes.

Since its launch in 2022, the contest has been held for three consecutive years, attracting over 110,000 participants and collecting nearly 180,000 works, with a total word count exceeding 3 billion Chinese characters. More than 70 percent of the award-winning works have been adapted into audiobooks, print publications, or film and television productions, with works such as I Never Intended to Become an Immortal (Wo Ben Wuyi Chengxian) gaining popularity overseas — offering vivid examples of the revitalization of ICH.

Chen Xiaowen, deputy director of Prince Kung's Palace Museum, hoped to enhance the "Reading Intangible Cultural Heritage" brand through deepening collaboration, and expand public participation to further promote the continuity and creative communication of traditional Chinese culture.

Yang Chen, editor-in-chief and vice-president of China Literature, spoke of expanding the international influence of ICH and bringing more excellent Chinese stories to global audiences in the future. China Literature, a culture and entertainment group, focuses on creating and developing intellectual property derived from online literature.

During the event, a roundtable seminar titled "The Global Spreading of ICH: From Being Seen to Being Loved" brought together museum professionals, media representatives, authors, and editors to discuss international storytelling strategies for disseminating Chinese cultural legacy. China Literature also unveiled themed travel routes under the initiative "Travel in China with Online Literature", and showcased Sichuan cuisine, Sichuan Opera, Shu embroidery, and Emei martial arts mentioned in the top award-winning work through images and physical displays.