'Cultural harbingers' measure in Qihe wins provincial recognition

A cultural harbinger makes a Spring Festival decoration with a girl. [Photo by Wang Yeting and Yan Xin for chinadaily.com.cn]

The "cultural harbingers" measure introduced by Qihe, a county in Dezhou, was recently listed among the 10 most innovative measures in disseminating culture in Shandong province.

The measure is meant to help promote culture, and social forces and professionals have been employed to make better use of public cultural resources.

Qihe hosts a variety show to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. [Photo by Wang Yeting and Yan Xin for chinadaily.com.cn]

Over the past three years, cultural facilities in local towns and subdistricts have livened up and locals have become more interested in participating in cultural activities.

A livestream host promotes Qihe specialties. [Photo by Wang Yeting and Yan Xin for chinadaily.com.cn]

All 15 towns and subdistricts in Qihe have launched the "cultural harbingers" measure and established over 200 cultural organizations, which have offered 9,000 hours of training and served more than 700,000 people. They have also cultivated over 8,500 grassroots cultural talent.

These cultural harbingers have also arranged for professional volunteers to set up a psychological counseling room and marriage and family mediation center and helped identify over 60 intangible cultural heritage items at the county level or above and market local produce online. (Edited by Gong Jun)