Guangzhou Exchange Tour: Intangible Cultural Heritage of Xiguan, Liwan
2024-09-23
To deepen Hong Kong youth’s understanding of China’s traditional culture and of the nation’s work in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, Art Sailing Culture Association organised the Xiguan Intangible Cultural Heritage Study Tour in Guangzhou’s Liwan District, leading Hong Kong youth into Xiguan for an in-depth cultural learning journey.
The itinerary spanned heritage crafts, historic architecture and youth exchange. Members explored the granite alleys of Yongqingfang, feeling the everyday life of old Xiguan; strolled Shamian Island, where European architecture marks the meeting of East and West; visited the Cantonese Opera Art Museum to appreciate the artistry of the “red bean of the south”; met local youth at Ling Xin She for candid conversation and lasting friendship; experienced the contemporary transformation of traditional crafts at the Pearl River Piano Dream Park heritage cluster; and toured the Bai’etan Greater Bay Area Art Centre, feeling the vitality of cultural development across the Greater Bay Area. Members also visited the Overseas Chinese Home at Jinlun Guild Hall to learn about Guangzhou’s diaspora heritage, joined an exchange dinner at Guangdong Victory Hotel to share what they had seen and felt, and experienced emerging cultural ventures such as “Yunshang Xu”, witnessing how digital innovation is reimagining traditional heritage.
Bridging cultures and learning by doing, the tour allowed Hong Kong youth to read Xiguan on foot, fall in love with living heritage, and grow through exchange — embodying Art Sailing Culture Association’s mission to bring the younger generation of both places closer together.