Commodifying Intangible Cultural Heritage in Contemporary China

Abstract

China is one of the few countries in the world which has established a comprehensive protection system of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). In addition to the emphasis on the safeguarding of ICH, China encourages commodifying ICH for economic development, in particular in the fields of cultural tourism and cultural industries. The commodification of ICH in China has become more obvious in recent years in the contexts of the integration of culture and tourism and the revitalization of cultural heritage. This paper illustrates the practices of commodification of ICH in China with cases concerning ethnic minorities ICH tourism in Yunnan Province, shopping ICH on E-commerce platforms and promotion of ICH through digital media. These cases will show that ICH can be mobilized as various kinds of capitals for political, social and economic functions through commodification. At the same time, various uses of ICH by ICH practitioners and social actors not only sustain ICH in contemporary society but also create new values for ICH.