Ethnic culture protection and inheritance highlighted at intl photo event in Chengdu

A photograph by Gao Tunzi in his Ten Years in Search of the Qiang series. [Photo provided to China Daily]

An image exhibition focusing on the protection of Qiang ethnic culture is being held in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, drawing much attention from the general public.

The exhibition, entitled Ten Years in Search of the Qiang, is part of the 2022 Chengdu International Photo Festival, the largest of its kind in the city. It showcases Qiang ethnic culture in three art forms - documentary photography, documentary film and non-fiction literature.

Gao Tunzi, a Chinese photographer, independent film director and cultural scholar, spent 10 years working on a series of works called Ten Years in Search of the Qiang, using photography, literature and film to present the spiritual beliefs and lives of a group of descendants of the ancient Qiang people.

A photograph by Gao Tunzi in his Ten Years in Search of the Qiang series. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Gao visited a Qiang village in Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province after the magnitude 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 to help the villagers increase their incomes by making Qiang embroidery products.

He was impressed by the traditions and customs of the Qiang people in the village, believing that it served as a "gene pool" of ancient Chinese people and culture.

"This group of Qiang people living high in the mountains and deep in the valleys still retains the ancient customs and elegant charm of the Chinese nation, which deserves to be recorded and brought to the attention of more people," said Gao.

He added that the customs of respecting nature and caring for people will surely touch and inspire people today who enjoy a convenient life and rich material possessions, but lack spirituality.

The Ten Years in Search of the Qiang series record the lives of more than 700 villagers in the two Qiang villages of Xige and Zhitai after the Wenchuan earthquake, as well as their journey to move away from their ancestral homes and return to worship their ancestors nine years later.

A photograph by Gao Tunzi in his Ten Years in Search of the Qiang series. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The series of works include a documentary film, a collection of photographs, and a non-fiction piece of literature. The film, also known as Qiang's Journey, won the Cultural Heritage Film Award at the 16th Universe Multicultural Film Festival.

The purpose behind the works is not just about searching for Qiang ethnic culture, but also the roots of Chinese civilization and cultural confidence, Gao said. He added that he wants to find out the secret of how Chinese culture has lasted for five thousand years.

"Cultural consciousness is a prerequisite for the protection of cultural diversity and intangible cultural heritage, which is revealed in Gao's exhibition," said Yuan Yimin, an associate professor at Sichuan University.

He said through the works of Gao he sees the cultural continuation of Qiang villages and Qiang people within China's integrated and diverse cultural system, as well as the cultural seeds they carefully collected along the migration route.