From May 28 to June 3, 2025, the 9th China (Chengdu) International Festival of Intangible Cultural Heritage was successfully held at the Chengdu International Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo Park. The event was co-hosted by the People’s Government of Sichuan Province, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, UNESCO, and the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO.
Chengdu University of Technology (CDUT) actively participated in the festival, contributing both artwork and volunteer services in photography and translation. At the International Handicraft Exhibition, a large-scale collaborative painting titled Scenery Along the Road, jointly created by Polish artist Iwona Tamborska, CDUT faculty member Dr. Qiao Yu, and students, attracted wide attention. The artwork explores the Silk Road and the Amber Road through portraits of women from diverse regions along the routes, expressing the symbiotic beauty between cultural heritage and natural landscapes. Drawing on CDUT’s academic strengths in geology, resources, and the environment, the piece incorporates symbolic representations of iconic natural and cultural elements from across the Eurasian continent. It presents a vision of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, which is a vivid embodiment of mutual appreciation across cultures.
Artist Iwona Tamborska and Dr. Qiao Yu working on-site at the festival
In the outdoor exhibition area, weaving artists from 11 countries across Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Europe collaborated on a massive installation piece titled Interwoven Diversity. A documentary team comprising CDUT faculty and graduate students from the College of Communication Science and Art documented the co-creation process in full, capturing the artisans’ exquisite craftsmanship and collaborative spirit through a detailed visual narrative.
CDUT documentary team filming the collaborative weaving project
Additionally, a student translation team formed by members of the Youth League Committee of CDUT and the College of Foreign Languages and Cultures provided translation support for several international co-creation projects, facilitating smooth communication and execution throughout the festival.
At the satellite venue, Nongyuan Art Expo Park in Wuhou District, Chengdu, select works from CDUT’s intangible cultural heritage research and training programs were featured in the International Art and Intangible Heritage Exhibition.
Couture garments from the Opera Masks and Eyes and Divine Tree: Above Fusang collections
CDUT also invited the renowned French designer Eric Benqué and acclaimed Polish jewelry artist Iwona Tamborska for campus visits and lectures. On May 30, Benqué delivered a lecture titled “Ode to Craftsmanship”, where he shared cutting-edge perspectives on global craft design and his own creative practices with faculty and students.
Eric Benqué delivering a lecture at CDUT
Having learned in advance about CDUT’s disciplinary strengths, Iwona Tamborska brought with her several precious minerals and fossils that she had personally excavated in Poland. She donated them to the Chengdu Natural History Museum (the Museum of Chengdu University of Technology) as a token of friendship and collaboration between China and Poland.
