Representative List
of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hong Kong
Background
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced on 14 August 2017 the first Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hong Kong (Representative List), which comprises 20 items. The Representative List will provide the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) with a basis for prioritising resources and safeguarding measures for intangible cultural heritage (ICH) items, especially those of high cultural value and with an urgent need for preservation.
Updating of the Representative List
Based on the survey and research findings, the ICH Advisory Committee recommended 4 proposed items for the Representative List. The Government of the HKSAR collected views from the public on the items concerned from 27 August to 23 September 2024.
After considering all views received, the ICH Advisory Committee finally recommended the inclusion of the 4 items in the Representative List of the ICH Inventory, increasing the number of items from 20 to 24. The updated Representative List was accepted by the Government of the HKSAR and promulgated in December 2024. Below is the brief description of the 24 items on the Representative List:
Social practices, rituals and festive events
Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
Traditional craftsmanship
Notes
* The 10 local items which have already been inscribed onto a higher threshold - the national list of ICH - were automatically included in the Representative List.
^ Cantonese opera was inscribed onto the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, making it a world ICH item.
§ Tin Hau Festival in Hong Kong and Hong Kong Cheongsam Making Technique were inscribed onto the National List of ICH in 2021.
The ICH Advisory Committee deliberated on and endorsed the selection criteria of the Representative List as follows:
| (1) | the item has been inscribed onto the ICH inventory of Hong Kong; |
| (2) | the item embodies local traditional culture and carries significant historical, literary, artistic, scientific, technological or arts and crafts values; |
| (3) | the item is transmitted from generation to generation and has a dynamic and living nature; |
| (4) | the item possesses the distinct traits of an ethnic group or a region, or manifests the characteristics of the local living culture as a typical example of that culture; and |
| (5) | the item exerts significant influence on the community, reinforces community ties and provides communities or groups with a sense of identity and continuity. |
Past Representative List of the ICH Inventory
First Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Hong Kong (August 2017)
Press Release
First Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage for Hong Kong announced (August 2017)