A senior Communist Party of China (CPC)leader is urging the country to support more folk craftsmen.

Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, watched performances by traditional craftsmen in Beijing on Wednesday.

"In the country's 5000-year history, our diligent and intelligent ancestors created an effulgent culture and left us so many precious traditional crafts. It's of great importance to ensure that those endangered traditional arts and crafts are well protected, passed on and developed," Li said.

He urged the commercial development of some cultural heritage items to ensure their sustainable development.

"The country should continue to seek leading folk artists and support them with various measures to cultivate heirs to those intangible cultural heritage items," he said.

In addition, Li also stressed the importance of making cultural items known to the public.

Source: Xinhua

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