The second session of the governing board of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) was held in Chengdu on June 17, 2013. The conference was attended by 10 CRIHAP members, including Wang Wenzhang, who is the president of the Chinese Art Research Institute, the director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center in China and chairman of the governing board of CRIHAP and Lv Pintian, the deputy president of the Chinese Art Research Institute. Twelve observer delegates also attended, including Wang Xuexian, the chairman of the advisory board of CRIHAP. The board members checked and passed the 2012 work report and approved CRIHAP's 2013 work plans.

First of all, Wang Wenzhang stated that CRIHAP was established in Beijing on Feb 22, 2012 and was China's first international agency on intangible cultural heritage approved by the State Council and supported by UNESCO. Since it was formally established and put into operation, CRIHAP has become an important platform for international exchanges and cooperation through organizing international training, hosting international conferences and promoting international exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region according to the conventions of Chinese government and UNESCO. It played an active role in promoting the development of intangible cultural heritage protection in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

Director of CRIHAP Yang Zhi introduced the overall work to the participants. He said that CRIHAP should be actively involved in the protection of intangible cultural heritage and strive to play an active role. In the past year, CRIHAP held its inaugural meeting, organized two international seminars on intangible cultural heritage and hosted a review meeting on UNESCO’s Global Strategy for Strengthening National Capacities for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage. It also held a workshop on the Implementation of the 2003 Convention at the National Level. 2013 is the 10th anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. CRIHAP has significantly enhanced capabilities to protect cultural heritage.

During the session CRIHAP delegates complimented the achievements of the first year and announced the long-term commitment of all partners to work together to protect intangible cultural heritage. They said they believed CRIHAP will make greater contributions to promote the capacity building of national intangible cultural heritage protection and the sustainable development of society.