Recently, this lionhead-shaped fried pastry has gone viral on social media platforms in China for its unique appearance and the skilled artisanship required to produce it. Photo: Yu Haiyang/China News Service, VCG

Inspired by the centuries-old lion dance culture in South China’s Guangdong province, 35-year-old chef Wu Yang created this flaky pastry in the local Huaiyang style. Photo: Yu Haiyang/China News Service, VCG

Jiang Sheng inspects a statue of the buddha in Xiamen, East China’s Fujian province, in May 2018. Born in 1990, Jiang converted to Buddhism when he was 19 and has sculpted Buddha statues for more than 10 years. Photo: VCG

In 2015, Liu Weixue, a millenial designer who lives in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province, quit his job and opened an online store selling handicraft oil-paper umbrellas. Originating in China thousands of years ago, these umbrellas are counted as part of the East Asian country’s intangible heritage. Photo: VCG

Traditional Cantonese fish lanterns influenced artist Wen Qiuwen’s work, leading her to create an updated version in the form of a bird-shaped paper lantern in 2018. Photo: VCG

Designer Gu Guoqiang weaves fine gold thread into jewelry in his studio in Southwest China’s Chongqing on April 21. The filigree inlaying technique he uses was popularized in the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644). Photo: Chen Chao/China News Service, VCG

By posting makeup videos in ancient Chinese dress on China’s version of TikTok, Douyin, Wang Yifan gained a lot of likes on social media. She now runs an online Chinese traditional cosmetics shop. Photo: VCG

An actor performs the Peony Pavilion in Shanghai in June 2020. Photo: VCG

25-year-old Yang Liu balances on a floating bamboo pole in Zunyi, Southwest China’s Guizhou province, in June 2021. Yang has practiced this skill for nearly 20 years. The skill originated in northern Guizhou during the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.). Photo: Zhai Honglun/China News Service, VCG