Royal ballet of Cambodia
© Ministère de la Culture et des Beaux-Arts
Renowned for its graceful hand gestures and stunning costumes, the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, also known as Khmer Classical Dance, has been closely associated with the Khmer court for over one thousand years.
Royal ancestral ritual in the Jongmyo shrine and its music
© Cultural Properties Administration
The Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul is the setting for a Confucian ritual dedicated to the ancestors of the Joseon dynasty (14th to the 19th century) that encompasses song, dance and music. The ritual is practised once a year on the first Sunday in May and is organized by the descendants of the royal family. It offers a unique example of a Confucian ritual, which is no longer celebrated in China.
Regong arts
© Qinghai Regong Art Society of China
In monasteries and villages along the Longwu River basin in Qinghai Province in western China, Buddhist monks and folk artists of the Tibetan and Tu ethnicity carry on the plastic arts of painting
Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana
© Ministry of Culture of Government of India
Ramlila, literally “Rama’s play”, is a performance of then Ramayana epic in a series of scenes that include song, narration, recital and dialogue. It is performed across northern India during the festival of Dussehra, held each year according to the ritual calendar in autumn.
Quan Họ Bắc Ninh folk songs
© Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies
In the provinces of Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang in northern Viet Nam, many of the villages are twinned, reinforcing their relationship through social customs such as Quan họ Bắc Ninh folk songs. The songs are performed as alternating verses between two women from one village who sing in harmony, and two men from another village who respond with similar melodies, but with different lyrics. The women traditionally wear distinctive large round hats and scarves; the men’s costumes include turbans, umbrellas and tunics.
Qiang New Year festival
© Wan Yuchuan
The Qiang New Year Festival, held on the first day of the tenth lunar month, is an occasion for the Qiang people of China’s Sichuan Province to offer thanks and worship to heaven for prosperity, reaffirm their harmonious and respectful relationship with nature, and promote social and family har
Peking opera
© Zhao Yiping / Beijing Bureau of Culture
Peking opera is a performance art incorporating singing, reciting, acting, martial arts. Although widely practised throughout China, its performance centres on Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.
Pansori epic chant
© Cultural Properties Administration
Pansori is a genre of musical storytelling performed by a vocalist and a drummer.This popular tradition, characterized by expressive singing, stylized speech, a repertory of narratives and gesture, embraces both elite and folk culture. During performances lasting up to eight hours, a male or female singer, accompanied by a single barrel drum, improvises on texts that combine rural and erudite literary expressions.
Ojiya-chijimi, Echigo-jofu: techniques of making ramie fabric in Uonuma region, Niigata Prefecture
© Association for the conservation of techniques for Echigo-iofu, Oiiva-Chiimi-fu
The high-quality, lightweight patterned textiles made from the ramie plant are ideal for the hot and humid Japanese summer.
Noken multifunctional knotted or woven bag, handcraft of the people of Papua
© Centre for Research and Development of Culture
Noken is a knotted net or woven bag handmade from wood fibre or leaves by communities in Papua and West Papua Provinces of Indonesia.