According to The Paper, this ancient Chinese tradition was moved by UNESCO experts from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, where it had been since 2011.

The decision was made during the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is meeting until December 13 in India.

In addition, UNESCO included the “Safeguarding Plan for the Yimakan of the Hezhen People” in the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.

This is the fourth Chinese intangible cultural heritage project to be moved from the urgent list to the representative list since 2024.

The Yimakan is an ancient oral tradition of the Hezhen people, passed down from generation to generation.

It is performed in the Hezhen language through a combination of prose and song, and conveys the history, heroic legends, ways of life based on fishing and hunting, ritual customs, and ethical norms of the ethnic group.

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