Handmade stories from the highlands

Crossing distances

The journey from Rangtang to Beijing is not an easy one. Located deep in the Aba Tibetan-Qiang autonomous prefecture, the county is more than 500 kilometers from the provincial capital, Chengdu, often requiring over 10 hours of travel by road.

Yet, that remoteness has also helped preserve Rangtang's remarkable concentration of intangible cultural heritage. The county is home to 143 registered heritage items and dozens of training workshops, where artisans spend years mastering crafts passed down through generations.

For three consecutive years, those traditions have traveled beyond the plateau. Artisans, performers and cultural practitioners have made their way to Beihai Park, turning what began as a one-time exhibition into a recurring cultural exchange.

Inside the temple halls, visitors move between rows of thangka paintings, glazed porcelain panels and carved wooden blocks, while conversations about the history and techniques behind the exhibits fill the space.

In one corner, artisans demonstrate how horse motifs are printed onto Tibetan paper using hand-carved plates. At another, visitors trace gold lines onto black ceramic pieces under the guidance of instructors. Nearby, shelves of crafts and food products, from hand-shaped pottery cups to woven textiles and highland snacks, invite visitors to browse, touch and purchase.

"There are exhibitions, but also experiences," says Ren Kai, deputy director of Beihai Park.

"Visitors can see, participate and even take something home."

This shift, he adds, reflects a broader change in how the exhibition is designed, moving away from passive viewing toward hands-on participation, where cultural objects become part of a lived experience rather than distant artifacts.

Cao Fei, who is in charge of the interactive programs, guides visitors to press their fingers carefully on a sheet of fibrous Tibetan paper at a long wooden table. Beside them, a local artist lifts a carved wooden block from a tray of ink, then steadies each visitor's hand as the paper meets the surface.

When the paper is peeled away, a vivid horse image emerges.

"It is a wind horse, a traditional motif symbolizing luck and the carrying of prayers," Cao says.

"This year we introduced more hands-on activities. We want people not only to see these traditions, but also to understand how they are made."