Solar Cultural Heritage

Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province: Farmers pick tea leaves a few days before the Qingming Festival, which falls on the 5th of 24 solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar. China’s Twenty-four Solar Terms are often considered the country’s fifth great invention. They were added to UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage on November 30, 2016.

The announcement was made during the 11th session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The meeting considered 37 nominations for the 2016 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. China’s Twenty-four Solar Terms are part of a knowledge system and social practice formed by observing the sun’s annual motion as well as the year’s changes in season, climate and phenology.

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage has inscribed 336 items onto the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity across its 10 years of service.