A training course launched by Heilongjiang International University, to train people on making art from fish skin and birch bark, concluded on July 12.

With this course, Heilongjiang province aims to protect and pass on the intangible cultural heritage of ethnic minorities living in the Heilongjiang River basin.

The project was funded by the China National Arts Fund, with the intention of cultivating experts and keeping alive those artistic skills that are in danger of being lost forever.

According to a training plan made by Heilongjiang International University, the project recruited around 30 people, including university teachers and arts and crafts practitioners, to participate in a four-month training course.

The course involved theoretical study, artistic cultivation, creative thinking and paying a visit to craftsmen skilled in making art from fish skin and birch bark. Furthermore, the course also enabled participants to make their own artwork under guidance.

This training has played an important role in promoting and inheriting the traditional craftsmanship and culture of Heilongjiang’s ethnic minorities.

At the closing ceremony of the course held on July 12, Heilongjiang International University was named as the intangible cultural heritage inheritance base of Harbin.

Artworks made from fish skin by trainees of the Heilongjiang International University’s ethnic minorities crafts training course on display. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Artworks made  by trainees of the Heilongjiang International University’s ethnic minorities crafts training course on display. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

A trainee introduces his artwork to a visitor. [Photo/Chinanews.com]