In response to the “China Cultural and Natural Heritage Day” on 13 June 2020, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) will hold a series of activities from 13 to 21 June, including the “Demonstration Workshop on making Cheongsam and Chinese Wedding Dress (kwan kwa)” and “Beijing Opera Mask Creative Workshop”, which introduce the unique charm of intangible cultural heritage to the public. In addition, IC will share information about intangible cultural heritage and the concept of healthy lifestyle with the public online, giving the public a deeper understanding of the relationship between intangible cultural heritage and their daily lives and raising the public’s awareness of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. IC will deploy the appropriate measures according to the anti-epidemic guidelines of the Health Bureau.
The “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day” originates from the former designation of the “Cultural Heritage Day”. In accordance with the directive of the State Council of China, the “Cultural Heritage Day” has been celebrated annually on the second Saturday of June since 2006. In 2017, the “Cultural Heritage Day” was renamed “Cultural and Natural Heritage Day” with the aim of strengthening public awareness about the importance of heritage preservation in general (including culture and natural heritage). This year, the “China Cultural and Natural Heritage Day” will be themed “Intangible Cultural Heritage Legacy, Healthy Lifestyle”.
The Guia Lighthouse will be open to the public on 13 and 14 June, from 10am to 5pm, as well as a number of heritage sites such as the Lou Kau Mansion, the Mandarin’s House and the Taipa Houses.The “Demonstration Workshop on making Cheongsam and Chinese Wedding Dress (kwan kwa)”, organized by IC and the Galaxy Entertainment Group Foundation and co-organized by the Hulu Culture Promotion Association, will be held on 20 and 21 June, at Yuqing Mansion of the Mandarin’s House, with two sessions per day at 11am and 2:30pm. Each session of the workshop is limited to 15 participants. In the workshop, a Cheongsam master and an owner of a Chinese wedding dress shop will elaborate on the making of Cheongsam and Kwan kwa respectively, and the participants may learn more about the essence of sewing techniques relating to these garments and try on Cheongsams. For enquiries, please call 8590 4321 during office hours.
In the “Beijing Opera Mask Creative Workshop”, a veteran instructor will teach the participants to use vivid colours, motifs and adornments to create their own opera masks with their boundless imagination. The workshop will be held on 20 June, at 1:30pm and 4pm, at the Art Square of the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao. Each session of the workshop is limited to 16 participants. For enquiries, please call 8988 4000 during office hours.
Online registration for the two workshops can be made through IC’s Activity Registration System at www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event from today. Admission is free. If the number of registrations exceeds the maximum number of participants, participants will be selected at random by drawing lots.
In conjunction with this year’s theme “Intangible Cultural HeritageLegacy, Healthy Lifestyle”, IC will share information on intangible cultural heritage via an online platform entitled “Intangible Cultural Heritage -Healthy Lifestyle”, giving the public a deeper understanding of Macao’s intangible cultural heritage and highlighting the role of traditional culture for a healthy lifestyle.
IC will reinforce the cleaning and disinfection of the venues prior to the activities. All participants are required to wear a face mask, undergo body temperature checks, present their Health Code Declarations on that day and cooperate with crowd control measures. The events will be carried out according to the anti-epidemic guidelines of the Health Bureau and will be adjusted according to the epidemic situation, and the security of public health remains the primary concern. For more information about the activities, please visit the China Cultural and Natural Heritage Day website (www.icm.gov.mo/chd) and follow IC’s official WeChat account “IC_Art_Macao” and “IC Art” page on Facebook.