Intangible Cultural Heritage brands find new life on Taobao

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Yang Tianji is a master of Jiuhu Rice Wine, a brand of Hakka rice wine. With the help of e-commerce platform Taobao, he and other local masters have revived the National Intangible Cultural Heritage in Fuxi, an ancient village in Fujian.

Back in 2013, Jiuhu Rice Wine was facing difficulties. However, after five years of development, they had gained nearly 10 million fans and followers online. Seeing the numbers, Yang's sons and daughter-in-law encouraged him to start selling the product online.

Over 70 percent of China's Time-Honored Brand have opened stores on E-commerce platforms. /Taobao Photo

According to an intangible cultural heritage report released by China' s e-commerce Platform Taobao, 70 percent (nearly 800) China's time-honored brands have chosen to open stores on Taobao.

In 2018, each Taobao consumer buys two pieces of these cultural products on average, 50 percent of them spent more than 300 yuan. And among consumers, the younger generation who were born in the 1980s and 1990s, have become the main buyers of these traditional cultural products.

Master Yang Tianji believes that Taobao is not only a platform for selling rice wine but also a window for spreading rice wine culture. For example, they cooperated with Taobao Live and broadcasted the winemaking process to fans.

(Head Image: Master Yang Tianji is making Jiuhu Rice Wine-an Intangible Cultural Heritage technique. /Taobao Photo)