Tai Chi Inscribed Among World's Intangible Cultural Heritages, Making Jiaozuo City Go Global

Jiaozuo City is the cradle of Tai Chi, or Taijiquan. Chinese Tai Chi was inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on December 17, 2020 with the approval of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee. With the latest round of additions, China now leads all countries with 42 officially recognized "intangible cultural heritages."

Characterized by circular movements, Tai Chi is a traditional physical practice based on the traditional Chinese philosophy and regimen, such as a cycle of Yin and Yang, which are two complementary forces making up all aspects and phenomena of life, and the harmony between men and nature. It works in harmony with breath regulation and cultivation of a righteous mind. Taijiquan's basic movements center upon 5 steps and 8 techniques with a series of routines, exercises and hand-pushing skills performed with a counterpart. Practitioners can cultivate their minds and build up their bodies by mastering Tai Chi's movements.

Tai Chi dates back to the middle of the 17th century. It was created by Chen Wangting in Chenjiagou Village, China. Being passed down for generations, Tai Chi evolves into various styles on the basis of the Chen style, such as the Yang style, the Wu style and the He style. There are over 80 movements and weapon routines as well as 20-odd gestures. Nearly 400 million Tai Chi fans come from 150 countries and regions. Tai Chi's cultural significance and social functions are further enriched, which proves the creativity of human beings. At present, the sport has become a bond for exchanging international cultures and a bridge for communication. Inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List，Tai Chi will facilitate the consensus on protecting and inheriting the sport, and indicate Tai Chi's significance for promoting the sustainable development of the mankind.

In recent years, Jiaozuo City carries forward the culture of Tai Chi. For example, it aims to establish a World Tai Chi City by creating a holy land of Tai Chi and conducting "Tai Chi Culture +" strategy. China Jiaozuo International Taijiquan Exchange Competition and Yuntai Mountain Tourism Festival are held every 2 years in Jiaozuo City. Tai Chi fans and tourists across the world crowd into the place to practice the sport and go sightseeing. The city continues to promote Tai Chi overseas and increase its influence. In recent years, Jiaozuo City has signed friendly cooperation framework agreements of Tai Chi with Thunder Bay, Canada and Chungju, South Korea respectively. An International Taiji Park lies by Lake Superior in Thunder Bay. Jiaozuo Culture and Tourism Promotion Centers are built in Los Angeles, Athens, London and Pitigliano, which enables Tai Chi culture go global. Besides, a series of events were successfully planned and organized to present the uniqueness of Tai Chi culture to the world and gradually increase the culture's influence, including "Enjoy Taijiquan, Enjoy Well-Being"，Taijiquan Performance by millions of Taijiquan fans around the world, the Belt and Road China Tai Chi Culture World Tour, "One Belt and One Road Long March" held in Greece and Britain, Henan Culture and Tourism Promotion hosted in New Delhi, India, and Tai Chi performance in New York's Times Square.

Tai Chi originated from Chenjiagou, Wen County, Jiaozuo City and now goes global. In recent years, Chenjiagou has become a tourist resort for sightseeing, culture exchange and Tai Chi competitions. Plenty of projects have been introduced to this place, including Chenjiagou International Wellness Tourism Base of Tai Chi Culture worth 2.3 billion yuan, Chenjiagou Ecological Park of Tai Chi Culture with the investment of 3.6 billion yuan, Taijiquan Academy in Physical Education College of Zhengzhou University and a large-scale tourism performance project named Impression · Tai Chi. Henan's Taijiquan Academy is China's first professional institute of higher learning for Tai Chi, Impression · Tai Chi has been officially launched by Zhang Yimou's team, and the large-scale stage play Legend of Tai Chi has been performed at home and abroad hundreds of times. Film and television works have been released one after another to promote Chenjiagou's Tai Chi culture domestically and overseas, such as a TV series Tai Chi Master of Tai Chi · Dao, a promotion video Taijiquan: The Common Wealth of the Mankind, a documentary Tai Chi of the Prosperous Era and a movie from Hollywood named Birth of the Dragon.

Tai Chi helps to build up your bodies，which has played a positive role in combating COVID-19 in 2020. After a series of researches, Academician Zhong Nanshan's team found that Tai Chi is as good as traditional pulmonary rehabilitation exercise when they are adopted to improve the health of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Inheritors of Chenjiagou Tai Chi have taught students for free since the outbreak of COVID-19. Many people start learning Tai Chi online. Fans of the sport are diligent in Tai Chi and chant "Cheer up, China" in Chinese. Chen Bing, Chinese master of Tai Chi, shot a Tai Chi-related video in Chenjiagou, cradle of the sport, at the beginning of April. This video released by Jiaozuo Culture and Tourism Promotion Centers has greeted and encouraged Tai Chi fans in Italy, Britain and Greece.

Tai Chi has been officially included on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A grand celebration was held at Jiaozuo City. Inheritors of different Tai Chi styles were discussing Tai Chi's future and trying to figure out a path towards more sustainable development in the celebration. The success of Tai Chi opens a door of the world to Jiaozuo. The city will continue to carry forward Tai Chi culture, display the sport's glamor and help build a harmonious and wonderful world.