Cultural journeys through heritage

The festival has drawn more than 120 million tourists over the past 31 sessions. Qinhuai's tourism income more than quintupled during the festivals between 2008 and 2017.

Lantern sales reached 10 million yuan ($1.55 million) during the 2017 event, which has helped local lantern craftspeople showcase their skills while boosting their incomes.

Cao Zhenrong has been busy making ox-themed lanterns for the upcoming Nanjing lantern festival. The 77-year-old has been making them since he was a child.

His lanterns have gained an increasingly prominent place at the festival over the years. Many visitors learn the basics of lantern-making at his workshop.

His daughter, Cao Hong, has taken up the baton and combines traditional lantern-making techniques with modern technology.

For instance, she sometimes creates the designs on computers, she explains.

Cao Hong says she is determined to carry on her father's practice and let more people appreciate its charm through events like the festival.

The festival was one of the 10 models for intangible cultural heritage and tourism integration selected by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2019.

The festival has brought attention to local intangible culture, which helps protect artists by increasing their incomes and the appeal of scenic spots that host the events, experts say.

Similar folk events during major celebrations, including the New Year holiday, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, have enhanced venues' status and provided opportunities for intangible culture heritage and tourism integration over the years.

A dozen folk festivals have been staged in Beichuan Qiang autonomous county in Sichuan province to tap the local culture.

One such event is a ceremony for Da Yu, a legendary figure who is believed to be the founder of the Xia Dynasty (c.21st century-16th century BC) and was said to have tamed the flooding of the Yellow River.

The county's cultural events have drawn 1 million tourist visits annually, local authorities say.