Rugao, an ancient city in the Yangtze River Delta, is home to 69 intangible cultural heritage items and 115 inheritors.

Cai Xiaoxia, an inheritor of dough sculpture in Rugao, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, recently used a short video on Sina Weibo (a social media platform) to introduce Rugao's longevity culture and dough sculpture, a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage item, in an effort to promote its intangible heritage.

Nowadays, in addition to offering in-person classes every weekend, Cai often uses livestream software such as Kuaishou, Douyin and new media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo to share pictures and videos of the creation process for her own dough sculptures.

Cai said that she was happy to see that new media changes the way intangible cultural heritage items can be preserved.

Cai has attracted more than 30 apprentices through her online videos.

Many inheritors in Rugao have embraced new media, using social media platforms to promote intangible cultural heritage items.

A man teaches people about bonsai via a livestream. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

For example, Liu Lei, the person in charge of the Rugao Bonsai Livestream Sharing Center, said that he will use the center as a bridge to allow more bonsai enthusiasts and flower farmers learn about bonsai.

Li Dongsheng, the person in charge of the Qianzhishou Food Factory, said that he hopes to attract people who are interested in making crispy cakes via livestreams.