From Dec 21 to 23, an online workshop on safeguarding intangible heritage for sustainable development for Myanmar's community youth leaders was co-organized by the International Training Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP), the UNESCO Bangkok Office, and the Culture and Religious Affairs Ministry of Myanmar.

From Nov 1 to 22, the International Training Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) and the UNESCO Bangkok Cluster Office co-organized an online Capacity-building Workshop on ICH Safeguarding for community youth leaders in Thailand.

From Nov 9 to 13, the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region co-organized an online Training of Trainers on Safeguarding of the Viability of Intangible Cultural Heritage Amid Pandemic in the Context of Sustainable Development for the Philippines.

From Nov 2 to 5, the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) and the UNESCO Dhaka Office co-organized a Capacity Building Workshop on ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) Nomination for Bangladesh online.

From Aug 24 to 28, the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) organized the fourth Training of Trainers Workshop for Central Asia online.

From Aug 11 to 14, the workshop on "Linking 2003 Convention and University ICH Programs"(online) was co-organized by CRIHAP, the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asia-Pacific Region under the Auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP), and the Asia-Pacific Higher Education Network for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (APHEN-ICH).

On Jan 14,  the ninth session of the Governing Board of CRIHAP was held in Beijing. The meeting reviewed and approved CRIHAP's 2019 annual work report and 2020 annual work plan.

On Jan 13, the seventh meeting of the CRIHAP’s Advisory Committee was held in Beijing.

From November 28 to 30, the Capacity Building Workshop on ICH in Mongolia was held by CRIHAP together with the Mongolian Council for Cultural Heritage Networking and Communication and the Mongolian National Center for Cultural Heritage.

From October 16 to 19,  the workshop “Review on Capacity Building Workshops (2012-2018) organized by CRIHAP and Recommendations on future activities” will be held as an important activity of the Seventh International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Chengdu.

From September 22 to 25, the Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventorying, jointly organized by CRIHAP and the UNESCO Dhaka Office, was held in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

From September 2 to 3, delegation of CRIHAP attended the Seventh Coordination Meeting of UNESCO Category 2 Centres in the Field of ICH, held in Algiers, capital of Algeria.

From August 19 to 23, the Workshop of the Training Project for ICH Bearers and Practitioners was held in Shanghai, Co-organized by CRIHAP and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Department under Ministry of Culture and Tourism of The People’s Republic of China.

From August 5 to 9, the Workshop on Community-based Inventorying of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in Ho Chi Minh City, co-organized by CRIHAP, Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture and Ho Chi Minh City Museum. It was also strongly supported by the UNESCO Office in Hanoi.

From July 1 to 5, the UNESCO Capacity-Building Workshop on the ICH Safeguarding Plan for Sustainable Development was held in Jeonju, Republic of Korea, co-hosted by CRIHAP and the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP).

From June17 to 23, the Training of National Trainers on Developing Safeguarding Plan was held in Chiang Mai province of Thailand by the Department of Cultural Promotion of Thailand's Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with UNESCO Bangkok Office and with support from CRIHAP.

On May 27, an adelegation of 18 from the Department of Cultural Promotion of Thailand’s Ministry of Culture visited CRIHAP. They came for an academic visit and to exchange knowledge with the centre’s staff members.

From May 13 to 17, the Capacity Building Workshop on the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Safeguarding Plan and International Assistance Requests (IARs) Development in the Pacific was held by CRIHAP in Fiji, in collaboration with the UNESCO Office in Apia and the Department of Heritage & Arts under Fiji’s Ministry of Education.

From April 8 to 12, the Third Training of Trainers Workshop for Central Asia was held by CRIHAP in joint hands with UNESCO Headquarters from April 8 to 12 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

On March 26, the eighth session of the Governing Board of CRIHAP was held in Beijing. The session examined and approved the centre’s Work Report and Financial Statement for FY2018 and its Work Plan and Budget for FY2019, as well as the Three-Year Development Plan for 2019-2021.

On March 25, the sixth meeting of the CRIHAP’s Advisory Committee was held in Beijing .

On Dec 19, the Seventh Session of the Governing Boarding of CRIHAP was held in Beijing.

On Dec 18, the Fifth Meeting of the Advisory Committee of CRIHAP was held in Beijing.

From Dec 5 to 10, co-organized by CHIHAP and Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, and National Heritage of Pakistan, the Workshop on the Nomination of Intangible Cultural Heritage under the ICH Convention was held in Islamabad, Pakistan.

On Sept 26, a delegation led by the Deputy Director-General Zhang Jing was send to Osaka, Japan, to attend the Seventh Governing Board Meeting of the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI).

On Sept 25, Mr. Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, visited CRIHAP in Beijing and listened to the CRIHAP work report.

From Sept 17 to 20, the UNESCO Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Safeguarding was jointly held by CRIHAP and the UNESCO Dhaka Office in Dhaka, the capital of Republic of Bangladesh.

From July 23 to 27, a capacity-building workshop on community-based ICH inventorying took place in Jeonju, Republic of Korea, jointly held by CRIHAP and the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP).

Fom July 2 to 6, co-organized by the UNESCO and CRIHAP, supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, the Training of Trainers Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage for Facilitators from the Asia-Pacific was held at Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province.

From June 25 to 29, co-organized by CRIHAP and UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the Training of Trainers Workshop for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Facilitators from Central Asia was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

From May 10 to 19, co-organized by the CRIHAP, UNESCO Office in Bangkok and Department of Cultural Promotion of Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, the workshop for trainers on community-based inventorying of intangible cultural heritage was held in Chiangmai, Thailand.

From April 23 to 27, jointly held by CRIHAP and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, the Capacity Building Workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Community Resilience was held in Port Vila, Vanuatu, under the support of the UNESCO Office in Apia.

From April 7 to 15, co-organized by CRIHAP and the National Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic for UNESCO, the training workshop on capacity-building for active youth of the Kyrgyz Republic on safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

From Nov 23 to 24, delegates were sent to France to attend the Second Coordination Meeting with UNESCO Category 2 Institutes and Centres (C2Cs) and UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Related to the UNESCO Culture Sector at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

From Nov 15 to 19, co-organized by Pakistan’s Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, National History & Literary Heritage, the “Workshop on Developing Safeguarding Plans for Intangible Cultural Heritage”, CRIHAP's second workshop for Pakistan, was held in Lahore, Pakistan. 

From Oct 18 to 24, an exhibition featuring achievements of CRIHAP from 2012 to 2017 was held at the China Cultural Center in Paris.

From Sept 11 to 15, the first capacity building workshop conducted by CRIHAP in Mongolia, “Capacity Building Workshop: on the Role of Media for Implementation of the UNESCO 2003 Convection for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage”, was held in Darkhan-Uul province of Mongolia.

From Sept 4 to 8, a capacity building workshop on the “Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003 (2003 Convention)” was successfully held in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal.

From July 10 to 13, the Workshop on Strengthening National Capacities for Effective Implementation of the 2003 Convention in Republic of Korea was held in Jeonju city of Korea by the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP), and International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP).

From June 19 to 23, the workshop “Strengthening the Implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Central Asia: a Sub-regional Training Workshop for Facilitators for Central Asia” was held in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek.

On June10, delegates were sent to China's Chengdu to attend the International Forum on Intangible Cultural Heritage of the 6th International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

From May 9-13, the Workshop on Ratification and Implementation of the 2003 Convention for South Pacific States was held in New Zealand’s Auckland.

From April 17-26, the Training of Chinese Trainers’ Workshop on the Implementation of the 2003 Convention was held in China's Suzhou.

On April 11, Dr. Thant Myint-U, Chairman of Yangon Heritage Trust, and his wife along with staff from the China Public Diplomacy Association visited CRIHAP.

From March 14-16, a delegation led by the Chinese National Academy of Arts vice president Liu Hongchang visited Cambodia to have a periodical evaluation on the Three Year (2014-2016) Capacity Building Training Programme in Cambodia.

On February 23, the Sixth Session of the Governing Board of the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the Auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) convened in Beijing, China. Announcements at the meeting included naming the new CRIHAP Director General and members approved the replacement of a member of the governing board and the augment of a new member to the advisory committee. CRIHAP’s Work Report and Financial Statement for Financial Year 2016 and its Work Plan and Budget for Financial Year 2017 were approved at the session. The time and place for the 7th session of the CRIHAP governing board were also fixed.

On February 22, the fourth meeting of the Advisory Committee of the International Training Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific region under the auspices of UNESCO (CRIHAP) was held in Beijing, China. The meeting introduced CRIHAP’s new Director General and an extra new member of the Advisory Committee of CRIHAP. CRIHAP’s achievements in 2016 and work plan for 2017 were also discussed at the meeting.

On February 15, UNESCO evaluator Ms Maria Angélica Arbulú Costa Laurent arrived in Beijing and started the evaluation of CRIHAP.

On December 15, delegates were sent to Seoul of Republic of Korea to attend the ninth Governing Board meeting of the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP).

From December 12 -18, the workshop on Community-based Inventorying of Intangible Cultural Heritage was jointly held by CRIHAP and the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage of Pakistanin in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan.

From November 28 to December 2, delegates were sent to Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to attend the 11th session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritages.

From November 21-25, the Workshop on “Developing Safeguarding Plans for Intangible Cultural Heritage” was jointly held by the CRIHAP, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal and UNESCO Kathmandu Office in Kathmandu, Nepal.

From November 7-14, the Training of Chinese Trainers Workshop on the Implementation of the 2003 Convention was held at Shanghai University.

Form October 24-28, the Workshop on Community-basedInventorying of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in Nuku'alofa in the Kingdom of Tonga.

From October 15-20, a tour of Guqin with lectures on the safeguarding of this ICH element was held in cooperation with China Cultural Centre in New Zealand, in Wellington and Auckland.

From October 9-12, delegates were sent to Ulaanbaatar of Mongolia to attend the Sub-Regional Meeting for Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding in Northeast Asia.

On September 28, delegates were sent to Osaka of Japan to attend the Fifth Governing Board meeting of the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI).

From September 7-9, the expert meeting on developing an overall results framework for the 2003 Convention was jointly held by the CRIHAP.

From September 1-5, CRIHAP delegation headed by Ms Xu Rong visited Kyrgyzstan, and held the preparatory coordinating meeting of the 2017 Training-of-Trainers Workshop for Central Asian Countries.

On June 3, delegates were sent to Paris of France to attend the fourth meeting on UNESCO Category 2 Centres in the field of intangible cultural heritage convened by the Secretariat of the “Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage” at UNESCO headquarters.

From May 30 to June 1, delegates were sent to Paris of France to attend the sixth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO headquarters.

From May 28 to June 3, delegates were sent to Guam to attend the Culture, Arts and Sustainable Development in the Pacific Forum.

From May 12 to 16, the Workshop on Capacity Building for Transmission and Sustainable Development of Traditional Craftsmanship was jointly held by the CRIHAP and UNESCO Beijing Office in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province.

On March 22, the fifth session of the Governing Board of the CRIHAP was held. The replacement of members of the Governing Board and the Advisory Committee was approved. It also approved the revision of the Rules of Procedure of the Governing Boad, examined the Work Report and Financial Statement for FY2015, reviewed and approved the Three-Year Development Plan for 2016-2018 and the Work Plan and Budget for FY2016.

From March 7-13, the Workshop on the Establishment of ICH Safeguarding Plan was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

On February 1-2, Dr. Frank Proschan, program specialist of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, visited the CRIHAP, and had a day and a half to meet and go over a study with the whole CRIHAP staff.

From January 27-28, the third session of the Advisory Committee of the CRIHAP was held in Beijing. The Advisory Committee examined and approved to revise the Rules of Procedure of Advisory Committee, discussed the revision of Rules of Procedure of Advisory Committee, and consulted with representatives on the Work Report for 2015, the three-year development plan for 2016-2018, and the Work Plan for 2016.

From December 18-23, the Workshop on Implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage for Pakistan was held in Beijing.

From November 2-6, the Workshop on the Ratification and Implementation of the 2003 Convention in the Pacific was held in Sydney, Australia.

On October 27, delegates were sent to Seoul of Republic of Korea to attend the seventh session of the of the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP).

From October 25 to November 4, a cultural exchange activity of Fujian puppetry was held in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.

From September 25-26, delegates were sent to Sakai city of Japan to attend the fourth session of the Governing Board of the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (IRCI).

From July 6-8, delegates were sent to Guiyang, Guizhou province, to attend the 3rd Annual Coordination Meeting of Category 2 Centres Active in the Field of Intangible Cultural Heritage under the auspices of UNESCO.

On June 15, the Workshop on Practices of Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding was held in Quanzhou, Fujian.

From May 7-14, a cultural exchange activity of puppet show from China’s Fujian province was held in Djakarta and Bandung of Indonesia.

On March 31, the fourth session of the Governing Board of the CRIHAP was held. The replacement of a member of the governing board and the acceptance of an observer was approved. It also reviewed and approved the 2015 annual work plan and final accounts. The bilingual website of CRIHAP (www.crihap.cn) was launched during the session.

From March 16-20, “Workshop on Implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH: Toward Digital Preservation” was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

From January 19-23, a training of trainer workshop on safeguarding plans and policy support for intangible cultural heritage for facilitators from Asia-Pacific region was held in Shenzhen.

From November 3-7, a workshop on the Revitalization of Indigenous Architecture and Sustainable Building Skills in the Pacific held in Samoa.

From October 17-23, a workshop on Inheritance and Development of Traditional Festivals in the Modern Age was held in Shanghai and neighboring Suzhou, China.

On October 1, delegates were sent to Japan to attend the third session of the Governing Board of the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific region (IRCI).

On September 2, delegates were sent to Apia, the capital of Samoa, to attend the conference of “Safeguarding ICH for Sustainable Development in SIDS” (Parallel Convention).

From June 29- July 3, 2014, the center recommended Ding Yan, head of the Digital Safeguarding Centre of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage, attend the Information Sharing Meeting on the Internet and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Northeast Asia in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

From June 1-7, 2014, delegates were sent to Paris to attend the Fifth Sessions of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the Second Joint Conference of the Category 2 Centers under UNESCO on Intangible Cultural Heritage.

From May 28-29, 2014, the third session of the Governing Board and the second session of the Advisory Committee of the CRIHAP was held. The meeting examined and adopted the center’s annual report in 2013 and approved the annual plan in 2014; the new director of the CRIHAP was announced at the meeting.

From April 16-22, 2014, a workshop on the Ratification and Implementation of the 2003 Convention of Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in Chengdu.

From March 24-29, 2014, the Capacity Building Workshop on Community-based Documentation and Inventorying of Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

From December 7 to 12, delegates were sent to the eigth meeting of the UNESCO intergovernmental committee on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Azerbaijan.

From November 29 to Dec 7, a training course on conservation and promotion of traditional festivals was held in Chaozhou and Foshan, Guangdong province.

From November 24 to 27, delegates were sent to the World Culture Forum in Bali, Indonesia, deeply discussing the role of culture in sustainable development.

From October 17 to 20, a training course on conservation and sustainable development of Asian-Pacific traditional handicraft was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

From October 14 to 19, the CRIHAP worked with the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and the government of Hangzhou City to organize the Asian-Pacific traditional handicraft expo.

From October 20 to 22, delegates were sent as observers to the second session of the Governing Board of the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Kyoto, Japan.

From October 25 to 29, delegates were sent to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo in Taierzhuang, Shandong province.

From September 27 to 30, delegates were sent to an activity at the ICHCAP in Republic of Korea to review what had been achieved in the past decade under the convention and looking towards the future. They were also present at the third session of the Governing Board of the ICHCAP as observers.

On August 23, directors from Shanghai Great World came to consult on the establishment of the exhibition hall of intangible cultural heritage in the Great World.

On August 21, the CRIHAP was visited by members of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. The director of the CRIHAP and a member of the International Committee on the Conservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage addressed visitors.

From July 23 to 26, delegates were sent to the first global conference of the UNESCO regional center on the conservation of intangible cultural heritage in Bulgaria.

From July 10 to 17, delegates were sent to watch and survey the International Folk Arts Festival in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.

From June 17 to 23, a training course on the listing of intangible cultural heritage was held for the Pacific Islands.

On June 17, the second session of the Governing Board of the CRIHAP was held, reviewing and approving the work summary from February 2012 to June 2013, and the work report from 2013 to April 2014.

From June 14 to 16, organized by the CRIHAP, the International Conference on Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in Chengdu, reviewing the fulfillment of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage over the past decade. The Chengdu Prospect was released as a consequential document of the conference. This was a landmark conference for the development of the convention.

From May 22 to 28, delegates were sent to Mongolia for a training course provided by UNESCO.

From April 7 to 10, delegates were sent to the third working group meeting of China-Mongolia cooperation mechanism on conservation of intangible cultural heritage in Mongolia, and had deep exchanges with their Mongolian counterparts, laying the foundation for relevant bilateral systems.

In February, department directors assumed their posts after competition.

On December 28, the Zaozhuang Base of the CRIHAP was inaugurated.

From December 14 to 19, the first international training course was carried out for the Pacific Islands.

From December 3 to 8, delegates were sent to the seventh session of the UNESCO inter-governmental committee on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in France.

On November 20, public recruitment for department directors began.

From November 19 to 23, delegates were sent to Mongolia for training provided by UNESCO.

From November 7 to 10, the CRIHAP held the UNESCO meeting for strategic evaluation of the capacity to safeguard intangible cultural heritage, reviewing what had been achieved and discussing and setting the future direction.

In November, 6 million yuan was granted to the CRIHAP.

From October 22 to 23, delegates were sent to the working group meeting of the UNESCO intergovernmental committee on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in France.

From October 4 to 6, delegates were sent to the second session of the Governing Board of the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP) in Republic of Korea.

On August 31, the first session of the Advisory Committee was held. The chairman of the committee was elected, and relevant rules and regulations were approved. Many committee members offered their suggestions on the future development of the CRIHAP.

On August 29, a China-ASEAN seminar on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage was held, building a preliminary regional exchange platform, and extending the regional cooperation network.

On August 29, a China-ASEAN seminar on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage was held, building a preliminary regional exchange platform, and extending the regional cooperation network.

On August 28, the general office, training division and research division were established.

On June 20, an application was sent to Ministry of Finance for the grant in 2013.

From June 4 to 8, delegates were sent to the fourth meeting of signatory states to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in France.

From April 26 to 27, delegates were sent to a coordination meeting in Bangkok.

In March, the design and building of the CRIHAP’s official website began.

On February 23, the international exchange meeting on the conservation of intangible cultural heritage was held, building a preliminary international exchange platform.

On February 22, the governing board was founded at the first session, reviewing and approving some relevant rules and regulations. It declared the establishment of the advisory committee, and appointed the director of the CRIHAP. The day also marked the start of operation of the CRIHAP.

In November, 4 million yuan was granted to the CRIHAP.

In June, an application was made to the Ministry of Finance for the grant in 2012.

From February to August, the CRIHAP made the mid-term development plan, and began to prepare the inaugural meeting of the CRIHAP.

On February 11, an amendment to the agreement mentioned above was co-signed by Shi Shuyun, China’s permanent representative at the UN, and Banderin, assistant director-general of UNESCO.

From January 10 to 14, the CRIHAP held the first UNESCO teacher training course for better conservation of intangible cultural heritage.

On May 18, the agreement on establishing the CRIHAP was co-signed by Zhao Shaohua, representative of the Chinese government, and Bokova, director-general of UNESCO. And the CRIHAP was inaugurated.

In October, the proposal report was officially approved by the 35th UNESCO General Conference, and the director-general was authorized to sign the agreements with the three countries.

On April 27, the proposal report of China, Japan and the ROK was approved by the 181st UNESCO Executive Board, and was submitted to the 35th UNESCO General Conference for review.

In January, UNESCO sent another group of experts to China for a second feasibility study.

From October to November, the memorandum of understanding was co-signed by Zhao Shaohua, China’s vice minister of Culture and his counterparts from Japan and the ROK, marking an agreement reached among the three countries.

In April, UNESCO sent the first group of experts to China for a feasibility study.

In September, Sun Jiazheng, China’s minister of culture, wrote to Koichiro Matsuura, officially putting forth the above proposal.

It was proposed by Zhou Heping, China’s vice minister of culture, to establish the International Training Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO, in his talk in November with Koichiro Matsuura, director-general of UNESCO.