Living heritage
Across China, similar stories are unfolding. Intangible cultural heritage, once associated mainly with museums, official exhibitions or aging artisans' workshops, is reappearing in shopping malls, coffee shops, lifestyle stores and weekend workshops that cater to young urban consumers.
On the fourth floor of Gongmei Building on Beijing's Wangfujing shopping street, visitors spend entire afternoons making paper toys, learning embroidery techniques or browsing heritage-inspired products inside a cultural space called Yuxun Jingxi, established by the major arts and crafts player Beijing Gongmei Group.
Some come for photos. Others simply want a relaxing weekend activity. Few arrive thinking they are engaging with intangible cultural heritage, observes Wang Jingjing, deputy general manager of Gongmei.
"That is precisely the point. We don't want to sell intangible cultural heritage as heritage. We want to present it as a lifestyle," she says.
Since opening in 2025, Yuxun Jingxi has hosted more than 100 heritage-related events, attracting tens of thousands of visitors through workshops, exhibitions and lifestyle experiences designed for younger consumers.
The approach reflects a broader shift in how traditional crafts are being revived in China today — not as static cultural symbols preserved behind glass, but as products and experiences woven back into everyday life.
"The moment heritage is placed too high on a pedestal, people feel disconnected from it," Wang says. "Lifestyle is immersive. It's participatory."
That participatory approach is increasingly resonating with younger consumers. A recent survey by China Youth Daily found that 81.1 percent of respondents view intangible cultural heritage activities as a new way to socialize, while nearly half share their experiences on social media.
Demand has grown rapidly. During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, group-purchase sales for activities combining intangible heritage and traditional markets surged 764 percent year-on-year on Douyin, according to platform data.
"It has to be fun first," Wang says. "Only then will people discover how remarkable these traditions really are."
