Recently, the eighth batch of representative ICH projects of Jiaxing City was announced, with 8 projects from Haiyan County making the list.

This batch includes 51 items across seven categories such as traditional music, drama, fine arts, and craftsmanship. Haiyan’s selected projects are:  Ganpu Drum and Gongs, Tongyuan Paper-cutting, Ruler Cake Making, Ancient Incense Making, Net Fishing, Black Pork Processing, Wooden Scale Making, and Feng’s Bone Injury Therapy (a traditional orthopedic treatment). The number of Haiyan’s newly recognized projects is among the highest in Jiaxing City.

The Jin’s Scale Shop on Chaoyang West Road has been operated by Jin Caiying since 1984, specializing in wooden scales. The wood selection is meticulous, requiring fine-grained, hard woods like oak and rosewood for durability and accuracy. The making process involves several detailed steps such as material selection, planing, drilling, attaching scale flowers, and coloring, all requiring precision. 

Wooden scales, valued for their accuracy, are key to preserving this traditional craft.

According to county records, Haiyan has a long history of incense making. Meng Xiajuan, a successor of this ancient craft, follows a complex process involving material selection, grinding, sieving, kneading, and resting the mud.

Haiyan has established a comprehensive system for ICH projects at national, provincial, municipal, county, and town levels, with 1 national, 8 provincial, 57 municipal, 104 county, and 72 town projects. There are also 11 provincial, 48 municipal, and 101 county-level inheritors. Moving forward, Haiyan will implement protection plans, clarify responsibilities, and enforce measures to effectively protect, inherit, and revitalize intangible cultural heritage.