This year, North China's Shanxi province will prioritize the protection and promotion of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), while also finding innovative ways to integrate it with tourism. 

The culture and tourism authorities in the province will establish evaluation standards for representative inheritors of ICH and conduct assessments at the national and provincial levels. They will also launch a pilot program called the "Rising Star Plan" to protect ICH projects in need.

The province will continue to enhance the construction of the Jinzhong National Culture Reserve. It will also focus its efforts to create over five provincial-level cultural protection experimental zones, as well as nurture regional clusters.

Projects concerning the revitalization and protection of ICH and rural culture will be further implemented, along with training programs for ICH inheritors.

Shanxi will provide support to ICH projects and inheritors that focus on international cultural exchanges, as they promote the export of Shanxi's ICH brands.

Collaborations with well-known e-commerce platforms will be pursued in order to facilitate ICH shopping festivals and to cultivate more ICH influencers and products.

In terms of integrating ICH with tourism, a series of ICH-themed tourism blocks will be established. Through Fenjiu liquor breweries, mature vinegar workshops, as well as traditional Chinese medicine production workshops, the province will establish and promote experience and learning sites for ICH practices. 

Additionally, the province has begun to optimize 10 of its major ICH-themed travel routes.