More intangible cultural heritage under state protection in China

China added 191 new items to the list of state intangible cultural heritage on Monday, including traditional music, handicrafts and medicines.

The newly added cultural heritage items include Arlirang, traditional Korean ethnicity folk songs, metal forging skills of Tibetans, architecture techniques of wooden buildings of Tu ethnic group, royal cuisine of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and Lianhualao dramas from north China's Shanxi Province, said a statement from the Ministry of Culture.

The number of intangible cultural heritage items under state protection has totaled 1,219 items since the country first issued its protection list in 2006, the statement said.

The government will allocate special funds for the protection of these listed cultural heritages and provide subsidies for major masters.

But the ministry stressed that those listed items could be taken off the list if local authorities did not take effective protection measures or the heritages vanished due to social change.