Case Study of Local Heritage Studies: Cheung Chau Jiao Festival • Teachers’ References
305
Safeguarding Intangible
Cultural Heritage:
The Hong Kong Experience
CHAU Hing-wah
Introduction
This paper outlines the protective works undertaken by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
(HKSAR) Government and by the local community in safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)
since the establishment of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage in April of 2006. Actions taken include: the establishment of safeguarding organizations, the
creation of an inventory, the completion of a territory-wide survey of ICH, the inscription of local items on
the national list of ICH in China, the inclusion of Cantonese Opera on UNESCO’s Representative List,
and various measures undertaken by local organizations to safeguard heritage and protect items of ICH.
Institutional Establishment
At the General Conference on 17 October 2003, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted a Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural
Heritage (the Convention).1 The purposes of the Convention were:
(i) to safeguard the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH);
(ii) to ensure respect for the ICH of the communities, groups and individuals concerned;
(iii) to raise awareness at the local, national and international levels of the importance of the ICH,
and of ensuring mutual appreciation thereof; and
(iv) to provide for international cooperation and assistance.
A country with a long and continuous history of five thousand years, the People’s Republic of China
(PRC) is extremely rich in intangible cultural tradition and heritage, and was one of the significant driving
forces urging the adoption of the Convention in 2003. The PRC ratified the Convention in August 2004
and became the sixth State Party of the Convention. At the invitation of the Central Government, the
Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) agreed in December 2004 that
the Convention would apply to the HKSAR once the Convention was formally enforced. The HKSAR
Government’s Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) is the policy bureau responsible for the preservation of ICH in
Hong Kong while the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is the executive department
responsible for implementing the measures in safeguarding local ICH.
Shortly before the Convention formally went into effect in April 2006, a new ICH Unit was
established under the Hong Kong Heritage Museum of the LCSD, to provide support for the
implementation of the Convention in Hong Kong. One of the major tasks of the ICH Unit was to conduct
the first territory-wide survey of ICH in order to collect useful and sufficient data for compiling the first
UNESCO, “Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,” 17 October 2003,
(http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001325/132540e.pdf).
1
306 Learning and Teaching Resource Pack for Secondary History Curriculum
inventory of ICH in Hong Kong, a task which was one of the stipulated obligations of the State Parties to
the Convention. Other major tasks of the Unit include raising the visibility of local ICH through inclusion
of selected local items onto the national list of ICH in China and on to the Representative List of ICH of
Humanity of UNESCO. Additional responsibilities of the unit included promoting local ICH through such
educational activities as public talks, field visits, seminars, conferences and exhibitions; engaging the
community in the process of the territory-wide survey through attending meetings of District Councils and
of the Heung Yee Kuk; and collaborating with similar ICH institutions on the Mainland and in Macau to
protect ICH in the region over all. In view of the growing interest of the Hong Kong public in local ICH
and the growing demand for better protection of endangered ICH items, the Unit is also growing quickly
and its manpower, currently standing at three curatorial staff, will be further strengthened in the near
future.
In order to engage the community in the safeguarding of ICH, in July 2008 the Secretary for Home
Affairs appointed an ICH Advisory Committee to advise the Government on the research methodology
and monitor the conduct of the first territory-wide survey of ICH in Hong Kong. This committee is chaired
by the Director of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and its membership comprises
professionals, academics, community personalities and government representatives. The ICH Unit of the
Hong Kong Heritage Museum is required to provide secretarial support to the committee including,
among others, the preparation of discussion papers and meeting minutes. The committee has held five
meetings between 2008 and 2010, and members have given valuable and constructive advice on a number
of issues concerning the territory-wide compilation of the inventory of ICH in Hong Kong. On 1 January
2011, the Government appointed the new term of the ICH Advisory Committee with its membership
enlarged to 14 unofficial members and with Prof. Yu Siu-wah, Department of Music of the Chinese
University of Hong Kong, appointed as the Chairman.2 Moreover, the terms of reference of the new
committee have been revised to cover not only the conduct of the territory-wide survey but also the
compilation of the first ICH inventory, the selection and nomination of ICH items for application for
inscription onto the national list or UNESCO’s list, and the providing of advice to the Government on
measures for safeguarding local ICH items.
Inventory-making
The making of inventories of ICH is one of the key obligations of States Parties to the Convention.
Article 12 of the Convention stipulates that “...to ensure identification with a view to safeguarding, each
State Party shall draw up, in a manner geared to its own situation, one or more inventories of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage present in its territory. These inventories shall be regularly updated.” In order
to comply with this provision, the ICH Unit of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum was tasked to conduct a
territory-wide survey on the ICH of Hong Kong, with a view to compiling an inventory of Hong Kong’s
ICH.
Since inventory-making of ICH is new experience for most countries, the Government considered it
desirable to conduct a pilot survey in the first instance to determine the various complex issues crucial to
the imminent implementation of the territory-wide survey. In October 2006, the Hong Kong Heritage
Museum commissioned the South China Research Center of the Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology (HKUST) to conduct a pilot study on ICH in Hong Kong, with reference to the 78 items of
ICH inscribed on the first provincial list of ICH of Guangdong. The purpose of this pilot study was to
identify the various complex issues that would be crucial for the implementation of the territory-wide
survey which itself would provide the necessary research data for the compilation of an inventory of the
Home Affairs Bureau, “News release: Appointments to Intangible Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee,” 30
December 2010,(http://www.hab.gov.hk/file_manager/en/documents/publications_and_press_releases/
20101230_ICHA_EN.pdf).
2
Case Study of Local Heritage Studies: Cheung Chau Jiao Festival • Teachers’ References
307
ICH in Hong Kong. The HKUST submitted the final study report in October 2007. The study found that of
the 78 ICH items listed by Guangdong, 34 of them were relevant to Hong Kong. Subsequently, extensive
field work has been conducted to record the 34 items and about 50 ICH holders have been interviewed to
provide details of these ICH items. 3 The study revealed that although these items originated from
Guangdong, their contents evolved after they had adapted to the local environment in Hong Kong. In the
process, these ICH items had developed into new ones with local traditions distinctive from the ones in the
Mainland and had built their own identities in the Hong Kong community. The identification and
protection of these ICH items had special meaning for those marginalized local community groups
concerned, because identification of their ICH would imply recognition of their traditions and thus
enhance the groups’ identities. Moreover, the study report made useful recommendations regarding how
the first territory-wide survey of ICH in Hong Kong should be carried out such as the methodology and the
composition of survey teams. These recommendations have been accepted in principle by the
Government.
Having examined the findings and recommendations of the pilot study report and taken the advice of
the ICH Advisory Committee, in July 2008 the Hong Kong Government embarked on a tendering exercise
to engage academics from local academic institutes, those with relevant expertise and research experience,
to conduct the territory-wide survey. To maximize efficiency, the survey was divided into two field survey
areas, each covering nine districts. These were:
(i)
(ii)
Survey Area A: North, Tai Po, Sha Tin, Sai Kung, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Kowloon City,
Sham Shui Po and Yau Tsim Mong.
Survey Area B: Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing, Islands, Central & Western,
Wan Chai, Eastern and Southern.
The survey team was required to conduct both desk-top research and field surveys. Desk-top research
included: searches of publications on local historical, anthropological and other cultural studies; searches
of unpublished papers, records, archival and historical documents through public libraries, archives and
the tertiary institutions; and searches of any other unpublished reports and audio-visual archives kept by
local museums and government departments. The field survey was to record and document the ICH items
in the survey areas in the following manner:
(i)
discussion with local informants to establish the locality, timing, event programme and bearers
of Intangible Cultural Heritage;
(ii) oral history survey with the identified ICH bearers on details of the heritage items;
(iii) photographic and video recording of the particular event in which the Intangible Cultural
Heritage takes place; and
(iv) collection of instruments, objects, artifacts and documents associated with the Intangible
Cultural Heritage items.
In order to engage the community and to raise public awareness of the territory-wide survey, the HAB
submitted a paper to the Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs on 20 March 2009, informing
members of the Government’s plan to conduct a territory-wide survey of ICH in Hong Kong, as outlined
above, and to invite members’ suggestions on how to engage the general public in the course of
Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, “Summary of the findings of the pilot study on Intangible Cultural
Heritage (ICH) in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a full list of
Guangdong's provincial ICH items and the list of the 34 items relevant to Hong Kong provided by the
Administration,” (Chinese version only) 8 May, 2009,
(http://legco.gov.hk/yr08-09/chinese/panels/ha/papers/ha0320cb2-1379-1-c.pdf).
3
308 Learning and Teaching Resource Pack for Secondary History Curriculum
conducting this territory-wide survey.4
Although a few local academic institutions had expressed interest in the territory-wide survey, only
one submitted a tender document. Subsequently, in August 2009 the South China Research Center of the
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) was awarded the tender to conduct the
survey of Area B, a survey to be completed within 18 months. At the end of 2009, the survey team
submitted a desk-top research report and a working plan for the field survey. The desk-top report provided
a tentative inventory of some 280 local ICH items compiled from both published and unpublished
documentary sources available in local research institutions. The working plan outlined the methodology
and the schedule of the field survey to collect the necessary research data on the 280 items listed in the
tentative inventory. To ensure full recording of the activities and oral history interviews with the heritage
bearers, the survey team emphasized that it would adopt a “Participant Observation” research approach to
the field work and that the field work would only be undertaken by researchers with experience in
“Qualitative Research.” These two documents were thoroughly discussed and endorsed by the ICH
Advisory Committee during its third committee meeting in January 2010.
In order to arouse public interest and enlist the support of the local community in the territory-wide
survey, the South China Research Center and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum established websites and
prepared posters and pamphlets to promote the survey. Local communities, groups and individuals were
encouraged to make suggestions and provide information regarding any ICH items they considered
valuable by providing information on a pre-printed survey form which could also be downloaded from the
website. Moreover, from February to April 2010 representatives from the Center and the Heritage Museum
attended meetings of the nine District Councils in survey Area B and of the Heung Yee Kuk to introduce
the territory-wide survey and to enlist the support of the Councils and Kuk members. These individuals
were well acquainted with local traditions and heritage, particularly in the New Territories.
Meanwhile, the Government had been working on the re-tendering of Survey Area A, and once more
the only tender submitted was from HKUST’s South China Research Center. Subsequently, the survey for
Area A commenced in July 2010, with completion expected within the first half of 2012. As before, from
November 2010 to January 2011 representatives from the Center and the Heritage Museum attended
meetings of the nine District Councils in survey Area A, to introduce the survey and invite members’
suggestions. Responses from the community were encouraging, as the Center had received some 70
completed survey forms by the end of 2010, providing very useful information on various ICH items for
the survey team to follow up. The HAB submitted another paper to the Legislative Council Panel on
Home Affairs on 11 February 2011 to inform members of the progress of the territory-wide survey.5
Inscription of Items on the National List of ICH in China
In March 2005, the State Council issued the “Directives on Enhancing the Work of Intangible Cultural
Heritage Protection” (關於加強我國非物質文化遺產保護工作的意見). 6 This directive document
promulgates the establishment of a listing system of representative items of ICH at respective national,
provincial, municipal and county levels. This national list would be approved and announced by the State
Council every two years. The first national list of 518 representative items of ICH was announced in May
2006, which included Cantonese Opera and herbal tea drinks (凉茶), both items jointly nominated by
Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, “Territory-wide Survey on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hong
Kong,” 20 March 2009, (http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr08-09/english/panels/ha/papers/ha0320cb2-1090-1-e.pdf)
5
Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, “Progress Report on the Territory-wide Survey of Intangible Cultural
Heritage in Hong Kong,” 11 February 2011,
(http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr10-11/english/panels/ha/papers/ha0211cb2-957-3-e.pdf).
6
Guowuyuan Bangongting, “Guanyu jiaqiang woguo feiwuzhi wenhua yichan baohu gongzuo de yijian,” Wang
Wenzhang bian,Feiwuzhi wenhua yichan gailun (Beijing: jiaoyu kexue chubanshe, 2008), 317-319.
4
Case Study of Local Heritage Studies: Cheung Chau Jiao Festival • Teachers’ References
309
Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. The second batch of 510 representative items was announced in June
2008. The third batch of representative items to be inscribed onto the national list was scheduled to be
announced in June of 2010.
On 17 July 2009, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) issued a “Notice on Matters Concerning
Applications for Inscription on the Third National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China” (《文化部
關於申報第三批國家級非物質文化遺產名錄專案有關事項的通知》 ) which called for applications for
the third batch of ICH items for inscription onto the national list. In addition, the MOC issued a letter to
the HAB on 22 July 2009, inviting Hong Kong to make applications for inscription. The deadline for
applications was 30 September 2009. In order to raise the visibility of local ICH and after consultation
with local experts, the HAB decided to submit an application for inscription of four local ICH items onto
the third national list, this application serving as a trial attempt for establishing a more comprehensive
selection and application mechanism in the future. These four items were: the Jiao-festival of Cheung
Chau, the dragon boat water parade of Tai O, the fire dragon dance of Tai Hang, and the Yu Lan Ghost
Festival of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Community. These events fit within the category of "social
practices, rituals and festive events", as defined by the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible
Cultural Heritage, and have been preserved from generation to generation within the community for more
than a hundred years. In view of the tight schedule for submission, experts from local universities were
commissioned to prepare the application document and the 10-minute video for each item. The documents
were then examined by a five-member expert panel appointed by the HAB. The panel considered that the
four items all had outstanding historical and cultural value, had been transmitted from generation to
generation with great impact on the community, and were representative illustrations of the creativity of
Chinese culture, thus meeting the criteria for inscription onto the national list. The panel unanimously
recommended the proposed applications, which were submitted to the MOC towards the end of September
2009. The application was widely and enthusiastically reported in local media.
While the formal announcement of the third national list by the State Council had not yet been made,
in 2010 the Hong Kong Heritage Museum collaborated with local experts and with the organising bodies
of the four ICH items, to present an exhibition as well as a series of talks and visits, with a view to
enhancing the public's understanding of these four ICH traditions in Hong Kong. To further protect and
promote these four items, and to increase students’ knowledge of folk traditions and their sense of
belonging to the community, the Government plans to join hands with the organising bodies to organise
workshops on folk culture for primary and secondary school students in selected districts. It also plans to
invite scholars to design and conduct research project for collecting comprehensive information on these
items, and to enhance the public’s understanding of these ICH items through publications and exhibitions.
It is envisaged that more local communities and organisations will work with the Hong Kong Government
in a concerted effort to preserve local ICH.
Inscription of Cantonese Opera on the UNESCO’s Representative List
According to article 16 of the Convention, the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
of Humanity” should be established to enhance the visibility of Intangible Cultural Heritage around the
world. At its second session in June 2008, the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention
adopted the Operational Directives for the implementation of the Convention, which were further
amended at its third General Assembly in 2010.7 The Operational Directives spell out, among other things,
the criteria and procedures to be followed for inscribing intangible heritage on the two lists of the
Convention, i.e. the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and the
UNESCO, “Operational Directives for the Implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage," 24 June 2010,
(http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/doc/src/ICH-Operational%20Directives-3.GA-EN.doc).
7
310 Learning and Teaching Resource Pack for Secondary History Curriculum
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. UNESCO then called for the first
submission for inscription to be submitted by the end of September 2008. The Guangdong, Macao and
Hong Kong governments then jointly submitted an application via the Central Government to UNESCO
for the inscription of Cantonese Opera which was officially inscribed onto the UNESCO Representative
List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in September 2009, making it the first item of the
World Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hong Kong.
The inscription of Cantonese Opera on UNESCO’s Representative List has succeeded in raising the
visibility of Hong Kong’s ICH and has been met with much enthusiasm from the Cantonese Opera sector
and the general public alike, who demand that the Government should put forward further measures for
the protection and development of Cantonese Opera. In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council Panel
on Home Affairs on 13 February 2009,8 the Government clearly set the following six policy objectives to
provide continued support to the preservation and development of Cantonese Opera:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
To develop performance venues for Cantonese Opera;
To nurture Cantonese Opera professionals, preserve the tradition and promote creative works;
To promote Cantonese Opera education, audience building and community participation;
To foster cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and promote cultural
exchange;
To preserve the essence of Cantonese Opera and showcase treasures of our cultural heritage;
and
To promote Cantonese Opera as a major tourist attraction.
The Government fully understood the importance of adequate resources for the development of
Cantonese Opera and so established the Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee in 2004 and the Cantonese
Opera Development Fund in 2005. By 2010, the Fund had granted nearly $30 million to support more than
300 projects. The Government also supports the development of Cantonese Opera through other measures.
These include support by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) to about 500 Cantonese
Opera and operatic singing performances each year; the funding of performance, education, promotion
and other development projects by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council; and the subsidy by the
Home Affairs Bureau for Cantonese Opera programmes organised by the Hong Kong Academy for
Performing Arts. During the financial year 2010-11, the government injected a sum of $69 million for
implementing further safeguarding projects for Cantonese Opera, which included a three-year subsidy for
the project, Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Troupe for New Talents, to promote promising young artists.
To provide more performance venues for Cantonese Opera, the Government not only introduced
priority booking systems at LCSD venues, but is also developing venues of different scales to meet the
development needs of Cantonese Opera. The relevant projects include conversion of the former Yau Ma
Tei Theatre and its adjacent Red Brick Building into a small theatre dedicated for traditional operatic
performances; the construction of a medium-sized theatre and practising rooms at the Annex Building of
the Ko Shan Theatre in Hung Hom; and the building of a large theatre, a small theatre and practising
facilities in the Xiqu Centre of the West Kowloon Cultural District. All these initiations are to provide
permanent Cantonese Opera performance venues for professional performances.
To further research and promote Cantonese opera, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum (HKHM) has
collected many different treasures of Cantonese opera, including contracts, librettos, postbills, photographs
Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, “The Development of Cantonese Opera and other Chinese Xiqu and
the Sunbeam Theatre as a Venue for Cantonese Opera Performances," 13 February 2009,
(http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr08-09/english/panels/ha/papers/ha0213cb2-818¬4-e.pdf).
8
Case Study of Local Heritage Studies: Cheung Chau Jiao Festival • Teachers’ References
311
of Cantonese Opera artists, newspapers, lyrics, costumes, stage appliances, musical instruments, painted
faces and records. The museum also conducts video documentation of traditional plots of Cantonese Opera.
Over 28 performances on traditional Cantonese Opera plots have been recorded so far. Apart from the
permanent display within the Cantonese Opera Heritage Hall, the HKHM also organizes thematic
exhibitions such as “Fong Yim Fun: Life and Work of a Female Cantonese Opera Artist,” “A Synthesis of
Lyrical Excellence & Martial Agility,” “Majestic Stage: The Story of Cantonese Opera Theatres,” and
“Splendour of Cantonese Opera: Masters Tong Tik Sang and Yam Kim Fai.” Free programmes on
Cantonese opera and extracts of performances are also staged in the museum theatre every Saturday and
on alternate Sundays.
Community Involvement
The 2003 Convention recognizes that ICH safeguarding must focus on practices and processes rather
than on products, and that the practitioners and custodians of ICH must play a central role in the measures
for safeguarding. The need to involve communities, groups and, sometimes, individuals in safeguarding
their ICH has been emphasized in several articles of the Convention. For instance, Articles 2.1 and 11
require that the communities, groups and, sometimes, individuals should participate in recognizing,
identifying and defining their ICH, while Article 13 encourages State Parties to ensure access to ICH
while respecting customary practices. Article 15 calls upon States Parties to ensure the widest possible
participation of communities, groups, and, where appropriate, individuals in safeguarding their ICH.
Accordingly, the Hong Kong Government has adopted a multi-pronged approach for implementing the
Convention in Hong Kong. Apart from financial and human resources provided by the Government for
implementing the safeguarding measures (covering in-depth research, education, promotion, and
application for inscription and transmission, local), communities and organisations are encouraged to
participate and to support the safeguarding measures in an concerted effort to preserve local ICH.9
In order to involve the community in the territory-wide survey and in the making of the inventory in
2010, the representatives of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the South China Research Center
attended the meetings of the 18 District Councils and of the Heung Yee Kuk to explain the details of the
survey and to invite the councilors to assist in suggesting local ICH items which were of significant value
for the survey team to follow up. Moreover, the survey has been widely publicised through various
channels, such as press releases, posters, leaflets and websites. Over one thousand letters have been sent
out to non-government organisations and local associations, including clansman associations, business
associations, kaifong welfare associations and residents’ associations, inviting them to provide information
on the ICH. Reporting forms have also been prepared to facilitate the submissions from the public and
from local associations. Public response has been encouraging, as nearly 70 completed forms have been
received. The survey team will contact the informants or associations concerned for follow-up work.
Apart from the efforts of the Government, it is encouraging to see that some local communities are
becoming actively involved in promoting their own intangible traditions. For example, the Cheung Chau
Rural Community is keen to promote the traditional festivals of Cheung Chau such as the Hung Shing
Festival, the Tin Hau Festival, the Yu Lan Ghost Festival and the famous annual Jiao-festival as well. The
Cheung Chau Rural Community is also the driving force behind including the Jiao Festival of Cheung
Chau for inscription onto the third national list of ICH in China. Likewise, the Chiu Chow Communities
in Hong Kong are also very keen to preserve and promote their own Chiu Chow traditions. For decades,
they have attached great significance to the traditional Yu Lan Ghost Festival, organizing more than 60 Yu
Lan festive activities in various districts in Hong Kong throughout the seventh lunar month of the Chinese
Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, “Progress Report on the Territory-wide Survey of Intangible Cultural
Heritage in Hong Kong,” 11 February 2011,
(http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr10-11/english/panels/ha/papers/ha0211cb2-957-3-e.pdf)
9
312 Learning and Teaching Resource Pack for Secondary History Curriculum
calendar. Recognizing the need to preserve their own traditions, the Chiu Chow Communities have played
leading roles in conducting research and preparing the application document and related materials for
inscribing the Yu Lan Ghost Festival of the Chiu Chow Community in Hong Kong onto the third national
list. Other safeguarding measures that the community is planning include collecting artifacts and historical
documents, conducting more in-depth studies, organizing an international conference and creating
publications to promote their Yu Lan festive activities. Furthermore, during the last few years, the Hau
clan in Sheung Shui has been keen to promote its traditional Hung Shing Festival. (Figure 8) To celebrate
the centenary of its Hung Shing Temple Fair in Ho Sheung Heung Village in 2011, the Hau clan organized
a 5-day festive programme which included Cantonese opera performances, lion and dragon dances,
Chinese martial arts shows, a floats parade, free basin meals for visitors, and most importantly, the
scrambling for fa pao (Flower Cannon) competition. The Temple Fair was widely covered by local media
and attracted thousands of visitors. The Hau clan is also planning to make application for inscribing its
Hung Shing Temple Fair onto the national list of ICH in China. This suggests that the inscription of ICH
items on the national list and on the UNESCO’s Representative List is becoming more popular among
local communities and the success in inscription will serve as a significant means through which to engage
the communities in safeguarding their own ICH traditions.
The paper was cited from LIU Tik-sang edited, Intangible Cultural Heritage and Local
Communities in East Asia (Hong Kong: South China Research Center, The Hong Kong University
of Science and Technology, and Hong Kong Heritage Museum, 2011), pp. 121-133.
Case Study of Local Heritage Studies: Cheung Chau Jiao Festival • Teachers’ References
313