The Fourth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo was inaugurated on Sept 21 in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, according to cnews.chinadaily.com.cn.

The expo will run until Sept 25, and is being held at the Jinan International Conference Center. The event is themed around translating cultural heritage into a modern context so that people of today can continue to enjoy items and traditions from the past.

Covering an area of 45,000 square meters, the expo is showcasing 14,000 works of intangible cultural heritage from 31 provinces and autonomous regions, as well as from various countries, including Britain, Japan, Thailand and Nepal.

This year a large area of the expo has been devoted to displaying quality works of national importance from across the country, and an experience area has been set up for visitors.

For the first time the expo has organized competitions where folk artists can showcase their skills of paper-cutting, embroidery and traditional performing arts.

Reenactments of old crafts such as lacquer coating and bamboo carving are also on display in a special venue.

Since last year, the ministries of culture and education have jointly launched a program to train artists in important aspects of China's cultural heritage. Researchers from 57 colleges and universities have helped train some 4,700 folk artists.

New products produced by these artists are also being showcased at the expo.

A forum will also take place to discuss the future preservation of China's cultural heritage, which many designers will attend and will share their experiences of working with folk artists to breathe new life into old customs.

An artist demonstrates the craft of clay sculpting at the Fourth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo which opened in Jinan on Sept 21. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

An artist demonstrates Suzhou embroidery at the Fourth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo which opened in Jinan on Sept 21. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

On the opening day of the Fourth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo, an artist displays the traditional craft of Xuan paper, often used for Chinese calligraphy and painting. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

A visitor views paper-cuttings at the Fourth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo which opened in Jinan on Sept 21. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]