China’s Shanxi province brought traditional crafts to a Sept. 25 diplomatic reception in Geneva, promoting its heritage abroad as its government seeks faster growth in culture and tourism.
China’s permanent mission in Geneva hosted the reception to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the Mid-Autumn Festival. The mission said more than 700 guests attended the full event, among them permanent representatives of more than 120 countries and leaders of more than 20 international organizations. Heritage displays were part of the reception.
Shanxi’s provincial government said its exhibition took place at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization. It featured 48 Datong knotwork brooches whose designs drew on the national flowers of Belt and Road partner countries. Their knot buttons incorporated ribbon motifs inspired by flying apsaras at the Yungang Grottoes and patterns based on ancient-city brick carvings.
The display also included more than 20 glazed-ceramic works from Jiexiu. Visitors tried applying glaze, the provincial government said. The Shanxi Provincial Government Foreign Affairs Office and Shanxi Daily organized the exhibition, which the Shanxi International Communication Center carried out.
The Yungang Grottoes in Datong have been on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List since 2001. That designation covers the site; UNESCO describes traditional craftsmanship in terms of the skills and knowledge passed between makers. China Culture Daily reported in November 2025 that Shanxi had 182 entries on China’s national intangible cultural heritage list and 198 nationally recognized practitioners. Those are national designations, separate from Yungang’s UNESCO listing.
Shanxi’s 2026 culture and tourism plan calls for promoting traditional heritage. By the end of the year, the province aims for growth in the value added by culture and tourism to exceed growth in provincial gross domestic product by 1.5 percentage points.
