Intangible Cultural Heritage Goes Abroad: The Cross-Cultural Transmission of Rockcheck Era Memories

Dreams Along the Road 2 -- Stories of Private Enterprises Participating in High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation

Compiled by All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce

Intellectual Property Publishing House

August 2023

98.00 （CNY）

In August 2017， during the peak of summer， famous Thangka painter Lan Ka from Qinghais Regong held a solo exhibition of his works in Tianjin. Upon seeing these exquisite Thangka pieces， Zhang Ronghua， Chairman of the Board of Tianjin Rockcheck Group， knew she had found the artisan she had been searching for and immediately contacted Lan Ka.

“At that time， I didnt know that Ms. Zhang was the chairperson of Rockcheck Group.” Lan Ka recalled his first meeting with Zhang Ronghua， saying， “Ms. Zhang told me that Rockcheck Group wanted to promote intangible cultural heritage overseas， planning to hold exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage works abroad， and invited me to exhibit my works in Sri Lanka. I was thrilled upon hearing this. Our skills have been passed down from generation to generation and are exquisite， yet we lacked a platform to promote them to the world， so I immediately agreed.” Four months later， hoping to promote Thangka culture internationally， Lan Ka went to Colombo， Sri Lanka， with the “China · Era Memory Intangible Cultural Heritage Sri Lanka Tour” event.

From December 4 to 6， 2017 in Colombo， the “China · Era Memory Intangible Cultural Heritage Sri Lanka Tour” cultural exchange event， organized by Tianjin Rockcheck Group， was held as scheduled at the local Chinese Cultural Exchange Center. The intangible cultural heritage exhibits brought by the Rockcheck Group， led personally by Ms. Zhang Ronghua， immediately attracted much attention and admiration from the local people. In no time， everyone from government officials to local entrepreneurs， from ordinary citizens to college and high school students， became fans of Chinese intangible cultural heritage. In the bustling crowd， two Sri Lankan female students seemed to freeze in time， standing in front of the Xizang intangible cultural heritage Thangka exhibition booth for an entire afternoon. The girls were astounded， exclaiming， “It took five years just to complete this one piece！” What deeply attracted them was Lan Kas hand-painted Thangka work The Five Hundred Arhats， a massive piece measuring 6 meters in length and 1.3 meters in width， which brought immense shock to the two students. They kept asking in disbelief， “Is this digitally composed？” To such doubts， Lan Ka was accustomed and calmly responded， “I spent nearly five years painting this Thangka entirely by hand.” “No wonder every detail is so perfectly handled; its unbelievable！” Excitedly， they pulled Lan Ka for a timeless photo that transcended borders and ethnicities.

Nearly a year after the trip to Sri Lanka， in November 2018， the winds of Era Memory blew to Eastern Europe， and the “China · Era Memory Intangible Cultural Heritage Czech Tour” grandly opened in Prague. Lan Ka， with his proud works Manjushri， Sakyamuni Buddha， and Padmasambhava， arrived in the distant and romantic Prague， accompanied by Liu Yamei， a national-level inheritor of Manchu embroidery intangible cultural heritage. At the exhibition， Liu Yamei demonstrated her embroidery skills on-site， where her nimble embroidery needle created lifelike flowers and birds on the fabric， eliciting rounds of applause. The exquisite Manchu embroidery was especially loved by Czech girls， who gathered around Liu Yamei， picking up the fine embroidery needles to experience Chinese womens needlework in a lively scene. “I taught them how to thread the needle hand by hand， and everyone was enthusiastic. Crossing half the globe， our Manchu embroidery is also loved in other countries. Despite the language barrier， the embroidery skills allowed us to have a warm exchange. Looking back， it still moves me deeply，” recalled Liu Yamei. “I never thought there were such exquisite handicraft skills and beautiful handicrafts in the world. It was truly an eye-opener！” This was the most common compliment Liu Yamei heard in the Czech Republic.

Before Sri Lanka and the Czech Republic， the Era Memory intangible cultural heritage exhibition also visited in London， UK， in August 2017. Many outstanding Chinese cultural heritage projects were displayed there， including Laomeihua， Yidecheng traditional medicine， Yangliuqing woodblock New Year pictures， “Kite Wei，” Hezhen fish skin paintings， Song brocade， Manchu embroidery， Tianjin-style filigree inlay， Shaman papercuts， Manchu-Han bilingual calligraphy， Tianjin-style jade carving， court patchwork embroidery，  Lianshengzhai embroidery， Northern clay figures， and others. Wei Guoqiu， the fourth-generation successor of “Kite Wei” and a representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project for kite making， fondly recalled the journey： “The kites I brought， including those made on-site， were almost sold out. Many foreigners fell in love with my kites at first sight. Throughout the days of the exhibition and sale， there was always a long queue in front of my booth， with people saying it was a beautiful sight！” Among them， the “Indoor Tai Chi Kite，” which can fly indoors without wind， was particularly popular， offering an unheard-of and unseen experience for the British audience. Huntley， an English friend who bought a kite during the exhibition， was deeply impressed by Wei Guoqius craftsmanship. Years later， on his birthday， Huntley specially traveled to “Kite Weis” workshop in Tianjin， China， to hand-make a kite as a gift for himself. “This birthday was very meaningful and made me very happy！” Huntley said， holding the kite he had spent a day handcrafting with joy.

Wei Guoqiu emotionally said， “As inheritors of intangible cultural heritage， we are especially grateful to Rockcheck Group and Ms. Zhang Ronghua for giving us the confidence to continue our legacy and the stage to showcase it， not only domestically but also internationally. We are thankful for this trust and protection and will not disappoint these enthusiastic expectations， striving continuously.”

As a private enterprise， Rockcheck Group holds deep affection for traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage， having organized the “China Era Memory Intangible Cultural Heritage Tour” multiple times. Through action， it promotes more intangible cultural heritage on the world stage， serving as inheritors and disseminators of outstanding traditional Chinese culture. It contributes to the protection and inheritance of Chinas intangible cultural heritage， enhancing the countrys cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture， building a culturally strong nation towards the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. What drives Rockcheck to do this is the inseparable affection and profound love for Chinese culture.