Five Guangzhou arts and crafts traditions, including enamelling, embroidery and ivory carving, opera, and traditional music are listed in the province's application to become part of the intangible cultural heritage of China.

This is the first time China has initiated such a list in a move to protect its traditional arts and crafts. Intangible cultural heritage is defined as the traditional arts, cultural practices, performances, as well as folk craftsmanship that has been passed down the generations.

According to government announcements, the final cultural heritage list would be assessed by a national committee and published by the State Council every other year.

This year a total of 51 arts and crafts were listed in the Guangdong Government's application, among which five were from Guangzhou; many of which are said to be more or less on the verge of extinction.

Guangdong opera has been cited as a prime example. A survey two years ago estimated there are now just 2,000 loyal Guangdong opera fans, most of whom were seniors. Although the leader of Guangzhou Guangdong Opera Group, Ni Huiying, hesitated to comment on the survey results, she did admit that it was getting harder and harder for the "old-fashioned" traditional opera to attract young audiences.

Xue Ziliang, leader of the Traditional Guangdong Music Art Troupe, made a more frank and open statement on the troupe's current situation: "We can't make a living from ticket revenue."

Speaking up for Guangdong embroidery, Chen Shaofang, a 70-year-old master in the folk art, said the future was not looking bright because few young people aspired to complete the long apprenticeship, the market was limited and costs were high.

As for ivory carving, the future of this craft could be said to be nothing less than bleak given the shortage of raw materials since 1990 when ivory trading was banned in many countries; China has also stopped importing ivory.

Just like embroidery, ivory carving has also attracted fewer and fewer young people because, again, it is hard to learn the skill and the rewards can't compete with other careers.

Other arts and crafts forms listed by the Guangdong Government in their cultural heritage application included Foshan paper-cuts, Chaoshan-style opera from Shantou, and Meizhou Hakka songs. No arts or crafts originating from Shenzhen were included in the list.

(Shenzhen Daily August 16, 2005)