Search Results (122)

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) embodies national memory. China has established a four-level ICH protection system covering national, provincial/autonomous regional, municipal, and county levels. The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region possesses abundant ICH resources formed by intensive cultural integration. However, existing studies have mostly focused on the national and provincial levels and paid insufficient attention to county-level ICH, which restricts detailed analysis of its spatial characteristics. Based on 1546 four-level ICH items, this study employs GIS spatial analysis and the geodetector method to investigate the spatial distribution characteristics and driving factors of ICH. The results indicate that ICH quantity is the highest in Yinchuan (372) and the lowest in Shizuishan (163). Traditional skills (763) are predominant, while Quyi (15) is the rarest. The imbalance index ($s$ = 0.1553) and the geographic concentration index ($G$ = 46.1) demonstrate that ICH is unevenly distributed and clustered at the municipal scale, showing a pattern of high density in the north and low density in the south. The Hui population ($q$ = 0.5639), cultural industry employees ($q$ = 0.4835), and annual precipitation ($q$ = 0.3809) are the main driving factors, with significant multi-factor interactions. This research provides a theoretical reference and practical paradigm for balanced ICH protection and living heritage in Ningxia. Full article

The preservation and transmission of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) face challenges posed by uneven spatial distribution, which are particularly evident in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area. This study aims to enhance the protection, management, and revitalization of ICH by integrating spatial analysis with digital platform development. A methodological framework was established, encompassing ICH data collection, kernel density analysis, Thiessen polygon analysis, and transportation accessibility analysis. A prototype digital platform integrating GIS functionality was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of combining spatial analysis with cultural tourism services. The findings reveal significant spatial clustering and uneven distribution of ICH resources, exhibiting a “core–periphery” spatial pattern. The core density value in the Guangzhou–Foshan area is approximately 4.3 times higher than that in peripheral regions, indicating significant spatial disparity. The average area of core-area Voronoi polygons is less than 5 square kilometers, while peripheral areas exceed 50 square kilometers. Accessibility values inversely correlate with convenience: the shortest travel time in core areas is under 20 min, while peripheral areas exceed 60 min. This study not only enriches the theoretical framework for ICH protection and deepens understanding of its spatial distribution patterns but also provides innovative solutions and practical guidance for targeted ICH conservation, revitalization, and the application of digital technologies in cultural heritage preservation. Full article

Rapid globalization is intensifying tensions between visitors and residents in heritage cities. In Madinah, which welcomed approximately 9 million visitors in 2024 and aims to reach 25 million by 2030, this pressure risks eroding residents’ lived experiences, daily rituals, routines, and social practices collectively understood as Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). This project seeks to identify and spatially map ICH to guide urban planners in protecting and enhancing culturally significant places amid rapid development. Despite its importance, few methodologies exist for systematically collecting and evaluating ICH. This research tests participatory methods for documenting ICH in Madinah through the “Living Heritage Atlas,” a project developed in collaboration with the Madinah Development Authority and Gehl. Between May and June 2025, four methods were deployed: semi-structured interviews, participatory mapping, an online survey, and a public engagement installation. Findings indicate that one-on-one interviews were most effective in capturing nuanced understandings of ICH, particularly in a context where cultural identity is deeply intertwined with religion. Other methods primarily raised ICH awareness rather than generating high volumes of data. The results further suggest that crowdsourced approaches to ICH documentation have mixed success without sustained public engagement to support broad and meaningful participation. Full article

This systematic review examines how Extended Reality (XR) technologies, i.e., Virtual (VR), Augmented (AR), Mixed (MR), and Spatial Augmented Reality (SAR) are designed, implemented, and evaluated in cultural heritage (CH) applications, addressing five research questions: (RQ1) How were XR technologies applied in CH between 2021 and 2025? (RQ2) What interaction paradigms are used, and how do they shape engagement and meaning making? (RQ3) What user experience outcomes are reported in XR CH applications? (RQ4) What evaluation methods are employed and what methodological gaps remain? (RQ5) What challenges persist across XR heritage implementations? Peer-reviewed, English-language studies reporting on implemented XR systems in CH contexts with empirical or evaluative data were included; conceptual articles without a described implementation, non-English publications, and studies published before January 2020 were excluded. Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and the ACM Digital Library were searched for publications dated January 2020 through March 2025, complemented by manual proceedings screening (SIGGRAPH, CHI, IMX, VRCAI) and backward/forward citation tracking. All databases were last searched in March 2025. Two independent researchers screened all records and extracted data; disagreements were resolved through structured discussion. Bias toward positive novelty outcomes was mitigated by including conference proceedings alongside journal articles to broaden the evidence base. A qualitative thematic synthesis was employed, as methodological heterogeneity across studies precluded statistical meta-analysis. Findings were organized inductively into four thematic domains through iterative coding and inter-author consensus. From an initial corpus of 359 records, 287 unique records were retained after deduplication; following title/abstract screening and full-text eligibility assessment, 64 studies were included in the final synthesis. The majority (60/64) were published between 2021 and 2025, with study sample sizes ranging from small expert cohorts (n ≈ 6) to large public deployments (n > 125). The thematic analysis across technology, interaction design, user experience, and evaluation reveals trends toward participatory, multiuser, and multimodal XR designs, reporting benefits including immersion, engagement, learning, and accessibility, alongside recurring challenges such as cost, usability, cybersickness, content authenticity, and lack of longitudinal evaluation. Beyond thematic description, using a cross-domain analytical synthesis, we identify the Design Coherence Framework for XR Heritage (DCF-XR); this is a four-dimensional interpretive model spanning technology, interaction design, user experience, and evaluation, which provides an original diagnostic lens for understanding the conditions under which XR effectively serves cultural heritage goals. A typology of four recurring design failure modes, derived inductively from the corpus, demonstrates that the most persistent shortcomings in the field arise not from the weakness of individual dimensions but from their misalignment with one another. Evidence is limited by the predominance of small convenience samples, single-session laboratory evaluations, and the absence of domain-specific standardized assessment instruments for XR in CH, which constrains the generalizability of reported outcomes. Targeted recommendations for rigorous, ethical, and inclusive XR practice in CH are presented, highlighting the need for longitudinal studies, open datasets, and standardized evaluation frameworks. This review received no external funding. This review was not pre-registered in a prospective register. Full article

With the ratification of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the safeguarding of intangible cultural practices has been established as a normatively binding framework of international cultural policy. This development has placed the field at the core of contemporary discourses on cultural diversity, sustainable development, and identity revitalization. In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the processes of institutionalizing the protection of intangible heritage unfold under complex conditions of asymmetric constitutional division of competences, normative fragmentation, and functional dispersion of responsibilities, resulting in the absence of a coherent and coordinated cultural policy system. The paper focuses on assessing the potential of integrated and strategically structured management of intangible cultural assets to generate synergistic effects between cultural valorization, local sustainability, and transnational recognition. Methodologically, this study applies a critical, comparative-analytical interpretation of the institutional and legal framework of BiH, with special reference to the position of intangible cultural heritage within strategic policy documents. The analysis of the national register, including elements inscribed on the UNESCO lists, underscores the urgent need for intersectoral and transdisciplinary mechanisms to safeguard and valorize cultural heritage as instruments of cultural policy aimed at strengthening collective identity, fostering cultural tourism, and positioning BiH within the global cultural landscape. Full article

To address the challenge of efficiently and cost-effectively generating images of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) furniture that can adapt to diverse modern spatial contexts for visual communication, this paper proposes and constructs an Generative Artificial Intelligence (AIGC) virtual studio system based on ComfyUI. The system is designed for ICH furniture designers, cultural communicators, and digital preservation practitioners, aiming to overcome the bottlenecks of scene switching encountered in traditional photography and 3D modeling. First, furniture images and user scene descriptions are collected, and a dual lexicon consisting of AI prompts and user prompts is constructed. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is then applied to weight and filter prompt combinations, forming a quantifiable and integrated prompt system. Second, a visual workflow incorporating ControlNet and IPAdapter nodes is built in ComfyUI to enable the transfer of ICH furniture images to various preset spatial scenes. Finally, a Likert-scale comparison is conducted between the experimental group (using AHP-weighted prompts) and the control group (using unweighted prompts). The results show that the experimental group achieves significant improvements in image realism, style consistency, and cultural communication effectiveness. The images generated by this system can be directly used for digital display, e-commerce product pages, design proposals, and cultural archives of ICH furniture. The method is applicable to the context-aware AIGC generation of traditional furniture and home products, provided that a certain amount of image data and a ComfyUI environment are available. This study provides a reusable technical pathway for the modern visual presentation of ICH furniture and offers methodological support and empirical evidence for the integration of AIGC into environmental design. Full article

The contemporary Mencius Shidian Ritual (shidian li, 释奠礼) in Zoucheng City is a recognized Shandong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), mainly manifested through the Annual Commemorative Ceremony for the Mother of Mencius and Mencius (jinian mengmu mengzi dadian, 纪念孟母孟子大典). Drawing on participant observation and interviews conducted in Zoucheng area between 2023 and 2025, this research argues that the current ICH practice exemplify contemporary Belief-Folklorism (xinsu zhuyi, 信俗主义). Within this framework, the local pursuit of embodied specialization is constructed through the orthoprax performance for the construction of localism. Specifically, the construction of local heritage memory serves as the organic institutional core of Belief-Folklorism, consisting of two primary mechanisms: the reproduction of historical evidence and ritual performance. Full article

Education in intangible cultural heritage (ICH) skills plays a vital role in cultural transmission and innovation, yet it faces persistent structural tension between the authenticity of regional culture and the standardization of modern educational systems. Drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory, this study examines the dynamic interaction of field, capital, and habitus within intangible cultural heritage skills education in Chinese higher education. Employing an exploratory qualitative single-case study design, the research investigates the ethnic arts curriculum at Southwest Minzu University, with data drawn from documentary evidence, teaching artifacts, and participant observation. The findings reveal a composite educational field structured by the intersection of native cultural, educational institutional, and cultural reproduction fields, within which cultural capital in its embodied, objectified, and institutionalized forms is transformed into symbolic and social capital through teaching practices, creative production, and institutional certification. The study further identifies a practical pathway extending from cultural capital accumulation to symbolic capital acquisition and ultimately to social capital expansion. Notably, the analysis empirically identifies the role of emotional persons—actors whose habitus is shaped by institutionally mandated affective cultivation, as articulated in the university’s formal talent training program—in mediating capital reproduction and habitus formation. This study offers a systematic theoretical framework for understanding the internal operational mechanisms of intangible cultural heritage skills education and provides practical insights for balancing cultural authenticity with educational standardization in the context of globalization. Full article

Against the backdrop of accelerating globalization and industrialization, traditional handicrafts embedded in specific socio-cultural contexts are facing critical challenges, including a decline in inheritors, shrinking market demand, and increasing disconnection from modern lifestyles. Promoting their integration into contemporary society while preserving cultural authenticity and ensuring their sustainable transmission and development has become a key issue in Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) revitalization. This study takes woodcarving in Qianjiang, Hubei Province, China, as a case study to explore transformation pathways for traditional handicrafts in the context of modern consumption. Questionnaire surveys were conducted to examine tourists’ preferences for cultural and creative products, and a user demand framework was constructed based on the three-level emotional model. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methods were employed to identify key influencing factors and their interrelationships. The results reveal significant differences among target groups in terms of cultural identity, emotional experience, and purchase intention. Based on these findings, a systematic framework of “demand identification–design concept–implementation strategy” is proposed to guide the sustainable design and development of traditional handicraft products. Furthermore, this study explores the integration of traditional craftsmanship with digital production to balance production efficiency and cultural expression. This research contributes to the theoretical development of ICH revitalization and provides practical insights for the cultivation of sustainable cultural and creative industries. Full article

This research considers, by a conceptual and philosophical–legal perspective, the tensions between the interest of harmonization of intellectual property and the protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Starting from the fact that the harmonization of IP has been promoted as a strategy of global legal integration, normative predictability, and legal certainty for transnational economic agents, this study underpins the challenges that cross this intention. ICH is also observed as a legal category grounded on collective, dynamic, and culturally situated logics. The article briefly remarks a critical reading regarding possible conceptual incompatibilities between these regimes, showing through pensée complexe that such tensions stem from deeper divergences, associated with the predominance of a unidimensional and reductive view of the relationship between IP and ICH. Full article

Despite the rapid digitization of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), the complex mechanisms governing how users interact and co-create knowledge in digital spaces remain underexplored. Understanding the internal dynamics and engagement logic of these interactive environments is therefore essential to developing sustainable heritage knowledge ecosystems. Conceptualizing the Zhihu community as such an ecosystem, this study investigates ICH thematic structures, knowledge demands, and user participation. By employing an LLM-refined BERTopic framework, this study identified 36 core topics and mapped them onto a four-layer architecture (Cultural Resource Layer, Action Subject Layer, Social Support Layer, and External Interaction Layer) and five knowledge demand dimensions (Basic Knowledge, Cultural Experience, Professional Development, Protection and Inheritance, and Modern Application) through weighted semantic similarity and Spearman correlation analysis. The results reveal a structural configuration dominated by the External Interaction Layer. A dual-track demand mechanism was identified, comprising a professionalized ability-oriented pathway and an affective experience-driven mode. Furthermore, deep engagement was primarily catalyzed by topics that integrate technology, action, and narrative, rather than structural prominence alone. The ICH knowledge ecosystem was characterized by an outward-looking and emotion-driven orientation. This research study contributes an ecosystem framework to heritage information while providing insights for practitioners to optimize digital ICH information services through multi-dimensional semantic integration and public co-creation. Full article

The preservation of tacit knowledge embedded in Southern Thai textiles remains a significant challenge because much of this knowledge is dispersed across private households and is inadequately supported by conventional object-centered documentation systems. This study developed a crowdsourcing-based digital storytelling platform that enabled communities to document, organize, and disseminate knowledge related to Southern Thai textile heritage. The platform integrated community participation, structured narrative authoring, and knowledge organization within a socio-technical system designed for cultural heritage documentation. To guide its development, the study proposed the Crowdsourced-Storytelling Intangible Cultural Heritage Framework (CS-ICH Framework) and operationalizes it through requirements analysis, iterative prototyping, and empirical user evaluation. The evaluation results indicated high levels of user satisfaction and positive user perceptions regarding knowledge accessibility, content organization, and the platform’s support for heritage preservation. These findings suggested that participatory digital platforms can effectively facilitate the documentation and dissemination of locally embedded cultural knowledge that is difficult to capture through conventional institutional systems. This study contributed to digital heritage research by providing a potentially transferable framework and design principles for integrating crowdsourcing and digital storytelling within platforms designed to preserve and transmit intangible and community-held cultural heritage. Full article

In the context of digital tourism development, artificial intelligence has become one of the major techniques for tourists’ information acquisition and interaction in the field of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) tourism. However, whether AI with anthropomorphism elements attracts tourists to visit cultural heritage sites and how AI anthropomorphism design affects visitors’ visit intentions remains unclear. Therefore, based on the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) theory, this study proposes an “AI anthropomorphism–AI trust–visit intention” model and investigates the role of AI anthropomorphism in visit intention. In particular, this study tests the effects of perceived intelligence and perceived risk on AI anthropomorphism, as well as the role of AI trust and perceived cultural sustainability on the relationship between AI anthropomorphism and visit intention. With a sample of 478 Chinese respondents who are intangible cultural heritage (ICH) tourists, the hypothesized relationships are tested by employing structural equation modeling. The results show that perceived intelligence exerts a positive effect on AI anthropomorphism, while perceived risk exerts a negative effect on AI anthropomorphism. Moreover, AI anthropomorphism exerts an effect on AI trust, which in turn yields a great influence on visit intention. In addition, further analysis shows that AI type intensifies the effect of anthropomorphism on AI trust, and the relationship between AI trust and visit intention is regulated by perceived cultural sustainability. This study reveals how AI anthropomorphism functions in ICH tourism, and the findings provide practical guidance for advancing intelligent services and giving cultural sustainability top priority in order to support the sustainable growth of ICH tourism. Full article

Exploring public awareness, participation, and emotional inclination toward intangible cultural heritage (ICH) clarifies public attitudes and demands toward traditional culture, providing a crucial basis for targeted ICH protection and inheritance. Based on ICH text big data collected from China’s mainstream social media platform Weibo, this study improves the TF-IDF algorithm, integrates LDA topic analysis for semantic feature mining, and trains a new sentiment analysis model to explore public emotional attitudes and their formation mechanisms. The study is geographically limited to China and covers the entire year of 2023. The results show that: (1) Public ICH perception is multi-dimensional, with close attention to crafts like paper-cutting and traditional Chinese medicine; action-oriented terms reflect dynamic inheritance demands. Public discussions focus on three dimensions: ICH inheritance and development (39%), introduction and promotion (45%), and public experience and participation (16%), with the latter accounting for a low proportion. (2) Public sentiment toward ICH is predominantly positive, with all regions scoring above 0.730 (full score = 1), and Zhejiang (0.751) and Jiangsu (0.750) ranking significantly higher. (3) Spatial econometric analysis reveals marked regional differences in ICH sentiment distribution, mainly affected by three key factors—the number of ICH projects, the number of inheritors, and regional GDP—with regression coefficients of 0.699, 0.632, and 0.458 (p < 0.01). This finding provides a basis for formulating targeted ICH protection strategies. Full article

Traditional Chinese paper cutting represents an important intangible cultural heritage. Can artificial intelligence (AI) reactivate the heritage in a new style? The aim of this study was to use AI to reactivate temple arts and paintings by converting them into the style of traditional Chinese paper cuttings. Thirty sets of old images taken 18 years ago and 10 images of ancient paintings from the National Palace Museum were restyled in Nano Banana (Pro)^®. Related design elements included integrated isolated parts, visual depth, details, and solid and void alternation. Three-dimensional stone and wood sculptures were reconstructed using Rodin^® or Meshy^® and converted into AR models in Sketchfab^®. From the generated 2D images and their 3D representations, a reactivated style of Chinese paper cutting was developed that can be interacted with in the AR smartphone platform or RP in the physical world. Approximately 370 images were regenerated, and 167 versions of models were reconstructed. AI should be considered part of culture. Rethinking traditional folk art highlights demand for the cross-reference and cross-reactivation of heterogeneous art forms. This AI model interprets novel 3D structural and visual details and creates a unique 2D and 3D identity for each subject. Full article