Intangible cultural heritage and photo collections presenting Guizhou province’s natural and cultural charm will join Hong Kong’s Lantern Carnival to add vibes to the city around the Lantern Festival, which is today.

The Lantern Carnival, as part of the city’s Chinese New Year celebrations, began on Friday at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, and will run through today.

The carnival includes the display of a 6-meter-high ornate palace lantern, with a host of little lion-shaped lanterns. All were made by a local paper-crafting master.

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This year, an intangible cultural heritage market with 10 stalls is taking place through today in the open-air square of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, displaying Guizhou’s intangible cultural heritage crafts and products such as silver jewelry and batik, a wax-printing technique. The pop-up market is part of the Southwest China province’s effort to promote local heritage preservation and tourism.

Cao Mei, who is working at a stall to introduce batik, said that the technique comes from the ethnic minorities of Guizhou and has a history of over 1,000 years. She said that the wax-printing process is very complex, requiring wax to be applied to the cloth before dyeing it with natural dyes, such as landian, or indigo.

The entire process, from drawing to dyeing, is completely eco-friendly and made by women from Guizhou villages, reflecting the simple concept of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, Cao said.

Cao also brought zhuoqi, or tablecloths, teacups and books introducing the patterns of batik to further promote the heritage to Hong Kong visitors.

Hu Rong, a promoter of Guizhou silver jewelry at the market, said that the silver jewelry on display this time is of high quality, all designed by masters and made by inheritors of the intangible cultural heritage. “Each piece has unique designs,” Hu said.

Hu highlighted a very distinctive set of 12 zodiac silver jewelry pieces, including one representing the Year of the Snake. The jewelry was made using the technique of biansi. The technique draws silver strips into threads thinner than a hair, and then weaving them into patterns by hand.

Next to the market, a Guizhou-themed photo exhibition is also being held simultaneously.

The exhibition displays about 80 selected photographs and works, arranged according to the themes of natural scenery, development achievements, unique culture and shuichenghua — a unique painting genre originated from the province’s city of Liupanshui.

The content of the photos includes the natural scenery of Guizhou’s cities, karst landscapes and rivers, as well as various activities in Guizhou such as rafting, rock climbing, and paragliding, aiming to entice Hong Kong residents to experience Guizhou in various ways.

On Wednesday night, a lantern-themed Gala Night will take place at the square. Actors from various ethnic groups in Guizhou, including the Miao, Bouyei, and Dong, will present a variety of songs, dances, and acrobatic performances.

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Hong Kong resident Alex Wong said that the items displayed at the market are exquisite and special, and are hard to buy in Hong Kong. Wong especially liked the silver jewelry and said that he plans to travel to Guizhou in the future to see the different parts of the country firsthand.

After viewing the photo exhibition, Hong Kong resident Karen Lai said that she realizes that Guizhou now is very developed as she noticed the province’s convenient transportation system from the photos — an outstanding achievement for mountainous regions.

She also said that Guizhou has many ethnic minorities with special characteristics.

Contact the writer at fangxue@chinadailyhk.com