Jinan held an entrepreneur meeting focusing on the city's intangible cultural heritage (ICH) item protection on July 30.

During the meeting, four private entrepreneurs shared their experiences in creatively transforming and innovating projects with ICH items in Jinan like the ejiao, a donkey-hide gelatin often used in TCM, as well as Zhangqiu iron woks, Laiwu sausages, and traditional clothing techniques.

Initiatives such as expanding the size of the team of inheritors, establishing ICH museums, leveraging artificial intelligence, and creating original R&D centers, have imbued related businesses with strong cultural foundations and significant brand value.

By integrating traditional culture with modern market practices, these four ICH items in Jinan have gained popularity and contemporary appeal while preserving their heritage.

"To better preserve our traditional clothing techniques, we have established our own themed museum, which displays classic works and tools from each generation of inheritors and is open to the public for free. We are also actively promoting traditional clothing culture in schools and communities, bringing traditional customs into households and fostering a sense of connection with the clothing," said Meng Ling, chairman of Shandong Dongda Clothing Co, based in Jinan's Laiwu district.

Traditional clothes made by Shandong Dongda Clothing Co on display during the meeting. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In the future, Jinan will continue focusing on four main areas: promoting local intangible cultural heritage, building strong talent teams, creating distinctive brands, and expanding outreach.

The city will boost policy support, financial aid, and talent development to create an ideal environment for heritage-focused businesses. This will help Jinan showcase its cultural strengths and set an example for promoting traditional Chinese culture nationwide.