The Fifth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo opens in Jinan, capital city of Shandong province on Sept 13 to showcase the country's rich and colorful cultural legacies.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Shandong provincial government, the biennial event was launched in 2010 and is currently the largest Intangible Cultural Heritage event in China.

This year's expo, with a main venue in Jinan and a sub-venue in Weifang, is designed to place cultural heritages in a modern context so that the people of today can continue to enjoy items and traditions from the past.

The main venue, the Jinan Shungeng International Exhibition Center, features a lush 3,300 square meter bamboo forest and also boasts chic buildings to present intangible elements integrating garden art and traditional customs.

It highlights eight themed exhibition areas of Chinese embroidery and dyeing, pottery making, weaving and braiding, tea making and brewing, printing and engraving, furniture and stationery, traditional Chinese medicine processing and carving and moulding, all tailored to people with particular interests.

The eight exhibition areas involve representative intangible cultural heritage items and skills in various schools. Around 200 inheritors from across the nation demonstrate their crafts onsite.

In addition to exhibitions and onsite performances, competitions, experience activities and forums are also held to satisfy the various needs of visitors, who have the chance to get a closer look at these traditional skills or learn to make their own works.

Branch activities relating to the expo will also be held among 300 residential communities and 25 schools in order to have greater interaction with local residents. The expo will last until Sept 17.

Rabbit Kings are displayed at the Fifth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo. The Rabbit King is a traditional toy made from mud for the Mid-Autumn Festival in Jinan. In ancient times, every family in the city worshiped the Rabbit King and admired the full moon during the festival. [Photo by Ding Yuanyuan/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Mount Tai shadow puppet show at the Fifth China Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo in Jinan, East China's Shandong province. The Mount Tai shadow puppetry has been listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Its performance requires formidable artistic talent, and performers must be adept at singing, relating stories and controlling the puppets. [Photo by Ding Yuanyuan/chinadaily.com.cn]

A straw dragon is displayed at Jinan Shungeng International Exhibition Center. Making dragons from straw is a traditional craftsmanship popular in Hukou county in East China's Jiangxi province. The dragon is always made out of thousands of pieces of straw. [Photo by Ding Yuanyuan/chinadaily.com.cn]