A group of kids got an in-depth understanding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) items such as gourd carving and paper-cutting on Feb 7 in Jimo district, Qingdao during an ICH promotional event.

Gourds are very popular in China, and people use them in many ways as gourds have many different meanings.

Gourds are considered very auspicious. The pronunciation of gourds in Chinese is "hulu" which sounds similar to the Chinese word happiness and wealth. Gourds also have a lot of seeds inside, which symbolizes a big family with many children. Nowadays, people still like to keep gourds in their homes to avoid evil spirits, according to Fu Wenjing, a gourd carving inheritor.

Fu introduced the historical origin and artistic value of gourd-carving to the children, and taught them the basic skills of gourd drawing and carving.

Under the guidance of Song Kuihua, an inheritor of paper-cutting, the children also learned the most basic paper-cutting techniques and tried to cut their own patterns to experience the fun of paper-cutting.

Kids learn about gourd carving during an ICH promotional event on Feb 7 in Jimo district. [Photo/Guanhai News]

Children learn about paper-cutting from an instructor. [Photo/Guanhai News]

Children admire a painted gourd. [Photo/Guanhai News]