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Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) as an administrative category has been used in Chinese official discourse since the early twenty-first century. It tends to standardise in a systemic vision what practices should or should not be included in the updated definition of Chinese tradition. The role played by the central government is of utter importance, drawing on China’s administrative and legal framework. However, local dynamics and reasoning sometimes occur off the beaten track. Shadow puppet troupes are a good example of a long tradition all over China that almost disappeared during the Maoist era, but which was resurrected during the 1980s, and is now listed internationally as a form of ICH. In Hua County (Huaxian), Shaanxi Province, one of the practitioners discussed in this article belongs to a family renowned for its puppets, and he has participated in the revival of shadow puppet performances. The second case examined here is of a troupe performing in the Yongxing Fang tourist area in Xi’an. The leader of the troupe is registered on the list of heritage transmitters at the provincial level. The discourse and practice of these two troupes exemplify different attitudes towards official recognition. Analysing the Huaxian shadow puppets, I will try to find out if ICH is only a new label stuck on an older tradition or if it has a deeper influence on the survival of living traditions.

Integral to the emergence of any modern state, the preservation of the traces of national past has become a major prerogative of today's governments, and China is no exception. A broad consensus now globally prevails on the a priori significance of \"heritage\" as a set of sites, constructions, and practices that deserve special treatment for their perpetuation and transmission. Taking shape mainly through the regulations of UNESCO, this \"raison patrimoniale\" (Poulot 2006: 16) is no longer just a matter for states; it concerns humanity as such, and one of its grounding ideas is the living and evolving nature of heritage, which \"includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants.\"1 At the same time, if the notion of heritage as a classifying term entails widely shared meanings, as an institutional device it is actualised in local contexts that are necessarily made of various references and complex realities. In the Chinese case, after a gradual emergence at the very end of the Qing empire and in the Republican era (1912-1949), followed by a period of selective denigrations and destructions during the Maoist era, the People's Republic of China has finally made its own the requirements to preserve and value heritage, making use of different labels and managing units at various levels for that purpose (Fresnais 2001, Zhang 2003). Although strongly rooted in the prerogatives of the socialist state under construction, this process has been largely inspired by foreign models, and has led not only to a successful integration into the world heritage lists, with 56 Chinese items now recognised as World Heritage Sites,2 but also to an active participation in heritage-related discussions and operations under the umbrella of UNESCO. Obviously, this massive commitment to heritage preservation does not simply reiterate a normative repertoire from international bodies: it also reflects endogenous trends, which are themselves part of a long-term trajectory regarding the sense and political use of the past (Gao 2000). Analyses of the making of Chinese heritage must keep this background in mind for a proper understanding of what is actually at work today in China's efficient mobilisation of this global discourse.

The world seems to have recently discovered India and China as major players in Asia, and political and economic connections between the two countries are rapidly growing.Beyond the fashionable phenomenon, the two countries have much in common and many shared experiences.

Review of: Intangible Cultural Heritage and Tourism in China: A Critical Approach, by SU, Junjie. 2023; Bristol and Jackson: Channel View Publications.

The Three Gorges dam project has caused the displacement of many people. Among them, three identified groups have arrived in Shanghai. Originally from rural areas in the municipality of Chongqing, they have all been settled on the outskirts of the city, where they have been given a home and land. This article considers those who have arrived on Chongming Island. It highlights, through their situation, the problems that these forced migrants are having to face, and the limits of the government’s planning when many new plans for relocating people, both in urban and rural areas, are being developed in China.

The Three Gorges dam project has caused the displacement of many people. Among them, three identified groups have arrived in Shanghai. Originally from rural areas in the municipality of Chongqing, they have all been settled on the outskirts of the city, where they have been given a home and land. This article considers those who have arrived on Chongming Island. It highlights, through their situation, the problems that these forced migrants are having to face, and the limits of the government's planning when many new plans for relocating people, both in urban and rural areas, are being developed in China.