On May 28, the opening ceremony of the 9th International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH Festival) Chengdu, China, was held at the International Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo Park (ICH Expo Park) in Chengdu. This year's festival is themed "Promoting Exchange and Mutual Appreciation, Spurring Vitality of Inheritance, Sharing a Better Lif e". Shi Xiaolin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Governor of the People's Government of Sichuan Province, attended the opening ceremony. Rao Quan, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism and Administrator of the National Cultural Heritage Administration , delivered a speech. Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESC O, addressed the event via video. Hu Yun, Vice Governor of the People's Government of Sichuan Province, gave a speech.

The International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage Chengdu, China, is one of the key brand festivals in the field of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). It serves as an important platform for showcasing conservation achievements and promoting cultural exchange. The current ICH Festival is co-hosted by the People's Government of Sichuan Province, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, UNESCO, and the National Commission of the People's Republic of China for UNESCO.

The event highlights how ICH connects with contemporary life, comprehensively demonstrates successful efforts in ICH preservation, and features nearly 600 representative ICH items nationwide showcased in exhibitions and performances. To widely engage public participation, the festival launches the International ICH Food Week and the Traditional Medicine Promotion Week, organizes interactive programs such as the Family Cooking Show and Celebrating Dragon Boat Festival at the ICH Festival, and hosts diverse activities, including dragon boat races, public cultural performances, and traditional craftsmanship exhibitions. With a strong emphasis on technology empowerment, it introduces over 30 experience installations, showcasing innovative achievements through various forms such as games, VR digital exhibitions, and short videos. It promotes ICH consumption through collaborative initiatives, organizing ICH brand IP licensing exhibitions, promotions and transactions, deepening partnerships between ICH and renowned brands, and launching signature exhibitions like "Silk Road Shu Brocade " that highlight Sichuan's unique characteristics. The ICH Festival also inaugurated a "Guest Country of Honour and Guest City of Hon our" mechanism for the first time, with Malaysia serving as the guest country of honour and Algiers (Algeria), Penang (Malaysia), Chiang Mai (Thailand), and Bari (Italy) as the guest cities of honour. Nearly 400 ICH practitioners from over 60 countries and regions, including Italy, Russia and Japan, alongside experts and scholars, participated in the event.

At around 9:30, Shi Xiaolin, Rao Quan, Hu Yun, Mayor of Chengdu Municipal People's Government Wang Fengchao, President of China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Association Wang Xiaofen g, Head of the Intangible Heritage Protection Department of the Malaysian National Heritage Department  Yang Lingyan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the National Commission of the People's Republic of China for UNESCO Ge Siying, national-level ICH representative inheritors Wang Jing and Tai Liping, and Sichuan Intangible Cultural Heritage Promotion Ambassador Li Ziqi jointly activated a dragon boat paddle installation to inaugurate the 9th International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage Chengdu, China.

The opening ceremony also featured a parade performance by 51 teams from China and abroad.

Attendees at the opening ceremony included representatives of foreign governments and foreign embassies and consulates in China, delegates from the guest country of honour and guest cities of honour, the International Tourism Alliance of Silk Road Citie s, and relevant international organizations, leading officials from pertinent departments, bureaus and directly affiliated institutions of relevant national ministries and commissions, heads of cultural and tourism departments of provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), leaders of related industry associations, responsible officials from relevant provincial departments and Chengdu municipal authorities, ICH inheritors, and enterprise representatives, among others.