Zuun tsaast khőzőr or Card with hundred leafs, is one of the intangible cultural heritage elements that were being transmitted for hundreds of years in the Uriankhai ethnic group. According to people, this game of card with hundred leafs was invented for declining the gambling games of Manchu and the ordinary card game. This tradition has its own specific rules. People play this game from December 22 to until spring comes (from the beginning to the end of the nine 9 of Mongolian winter). Herders keep their livestock in the fence early, and play this game in the long nights of the winter. Before start the game people who are joining in this game will wash their hands, and get blessing from card, and then hosting person will open the game. Uriankhai people play this game for checking the luck of that year, and to remove the all the bad energies and for inviting the every good things and happiness to their life.

Zuun tsaast khőzőr or Card with hundred leafs, is one of the intangible cultural heritage elements that were being transmitted for hundreds of years in the Uriankhai ethnic group. According to people, this game of card with hundred leafs was invented for declining the gambling games of Manchu and the ordinary card game. This tradition has its own specific rules. People play this game from December 22 to until spring comes (from the beginning to the end of the nine 9 of Mongolian winter). Herders keep their livestock in the fence early, and play this game in the long nights of the winter. Before start the game people who are joining in this game will wash their hands, and get blessing from card, and then hosting person will open the game. Uriankhai people play this game for checking the luck of that year, and to remove the all the bad energies and for inviting the every good things and happiness to their life.

Rooted in the ancestral traditions of the Fatumea and Fohorem communities in Covalima Municipality, Tebe Otas-Uluk is more than a dance—it is a collective act of memory, identity, and reverence. The name itself combines “tebe” (a traditional line dance) with Otas (ancestor) and Uluk (first or origin), signaling a ritual expression dedicated to those who came before.\n\nTraditionally performed by the elders of the community, this dance takes place during important communal gatherings such as ceremonies of healing, protection, thanksgiving, or agricultural celebration. Participants often wear traditional attire and move in side-by-side formations, linked by hands or shoulders, stepping rhythmically in unison to the beat of local drums, gongs, or the babadok (a hand-held percussion instrument). The dance circle forms a symbolic space where the living and the spirits of the ancestors meet.\n\nWhat sets Tebe Otas-Uluk apart is its solemn and purposeful character. The movement vocabulary is simple yet powerful: synchronized steps, grounded footwork, and fluid arm gestures that flow with the communal rhythm. Songs are chanted throughout the dance in the Tetun-Terik language, often carrying metaphorical meanings related to the land, family, and the ancestors’ wisdom. The lyrics function as oral archives, preserving knowledge and history that is not written but remembered through voice and motion.\n\nBecause of its deep spiritual roots, this dance is only performed on specific occasions, often after traditional leaders conduct consultations with spiritual entities or conduct rituals to prepare the ground. Each gesture, each chant, is believed to activate a connection to the ancestral realm—inviting blessings, healing, or protection for the community.\n\nIn recent years, however, the practice has become increasingly rare, with fewer young people learning the movements or understanding the embedded meanings. Despite this, dedicated elders continue to lead and teach the dance, ensuring its survival as a living heritage. For them, Tebe Otas-Uluk is not simply a performance—it is a prayer in motion, a ceremony that anchors the community to its origins and affirms its cultural continuity.

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is transnational in nature. It is necessary to spread the perception that ICH transcends geographical spaces and national borders, creating dynamic relations, connectedness, and continuity, which is why it is a timeless bearer of cultural diversity, the foundation of the heritage of humanity. However, as the modern structure of nation-state determines the boundaries of culture with national borders, forming the concept of “culture within the country”, subsequently led to the perception that the ownership of culture belongs to the state.\n\nThe concept of exclusive ownership of culture is often controversial in the UNESCO listing process, particularly in instances where cultural heritage and cultural domains have been shared for a long time by two or more nation-states. Such conflicts lead to excessive competition for nomination, overshadowing UNESCO’s fundamental purpose of contributing to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations, as well as the very spirit of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that promotes international cooperation and assistance in the safeguarding of ICH as a matter of general interest to humanity.\n\nConsequently, UNESCO encourages multinational inscriptions of shared intangible cultural heritage to promote regional cooperation and international safeguarding activities, preventing conflicts among countries and coping with already existing ones. By emphasizing joint nominations of shared ICH, UNESCO revised its implementation guidelines three times to deal with conflicts between countries due to the cultural property rights. In addition, States Parties are encouraged to develop networks among relevant communities, experts, professional centres, and research institutes, particularly with regard to their ICH, to cooperate at the sub-regional and regional levels.\n\nAt the 13th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in the Republic of Mauritius in November 2018, Traditional Korean Wrestling was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as the first joint designation by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Republic of Korea. This milestone in the life of the Convention demonstrates that ICH contributes to the peace-building, reconciliation, mutual understanding, and solidarity among peoples. Indeed, only when acknowledging that shared cultural values are empowering characteristics of ICH, the true perspective of the unifying agent of the cultural diversity can be achieved, and that it is the cornerstone of reaching peace among nations.\n\nCountries in the Asia Pacific region are deeply connected by a long history of interactions, exchanges, flows of people, goods, and ideas that have shaped shared values, practices, and traditions. Having a balanced view, advocating for cultural diversity, and recognizing the commonalities among individuals, communities, and countries as a strength are virtuous tenets in the present time.\n\nIn this regard, APHEN-ICH Secretariat, ICHCAP, and UNESCO Bangkok Office are inviting the APHEN-ICH member institutes and public to this seminar under the theme of Diversity and Distinctiveness: Looking into the Shared ICH in the Asia-Pacific, to re-assess that while fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity, connecting bounds, and enhancing international dialogue and peace.

This song belongs to the first stage in a hát Xoan performance. The lyrics are a song prayer inviting the king and gods to descend to and the earth grant blessings. The music of Thơ nhang is slow and solemn.

Hát Xoan (Xoan singing) or cửa đình singing (singing at the village communal house) starts in spring during singing and dancing performances to worship the god in the village communal house. According to legend Hát Xoan appeared in the time of Kings Hùng, in the ancestral land of Hùng Vương—Phú Thọ, a province in the midland area of Vietnam. Gathering of Xoan singers who worship in spring called Xoan guild or families of Xoan. In a Xoan guild, there are between six and eighteen members. Men, called kép (instrumentalist), have to know how to beat a drum and sing the lead. Women are called đào (female singer). Female singers must not only be beautiful but also be able sing and dance well. The leader, called ông trùm, is an expert in art and master in all Xoan singing customs . He is also responsible for organizing and training instrumentalists and singers. Nowadays, in Phú Thọ province, there are four original Xoan guilds, in Kim Đới, Phù Đức, Thét, and An Thái villages. The Xoan guilds start their two-month spring itinerary 6 Jan (lunar calendar).\n\nXoan singing for worship is structured into three singing stages: Stage one is a ritual opening that includes songs such as Giáo trống, Giáo pháo, Thơ nhang, and Đóng đám. The Xoan guild of An Thái village opens with the song Chào vua while Xoan guild of Kim Đới village opens with Mời vua. Stage two is the performance of fourteen songs (known as quả cách) such as Kiều Giang cách, Nhàn ngâm cách, Tràng mai cách, Ngư tiều canh mục cách, Đối dẫy cách, Hồi liên cách, Tứ mùa cách, Quả cách is an ancient term. Quả means a long song while cách is a method of singing a specific song. Cách is the way ancient Confusion scholars expressed their feelings and conceptions of society and nature. The content of these fourteen songs is about wishing the four classes of people— scholars, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants—prosperity and fame. Stage three is a love-exchange song, including songs such as Bợm gái, Bỏ bộ, Xin hoa đố chữ, Gài hoa, Hát đúm, and Giã cá. The content reflects the desire of a couple’s love. Therefore, the items in this stage are usually performed by Xoan singers with local male villagers. The cultural exchange between Xoan guild and local male villagers make the singing session more attractive. However, Xoan singing was under the threat of being lost over time. On 24 November 2011, Xoan singing of Phú Thọ province was recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage In Need of Urgent Safeguarding of Humanity. In this CD, we selected and arranged some Xoan singing songs recorded and kept at Vietnamese Institute for Musicology in 1959.

ICH Courier is the quarterly magazine on ICH in the Asia-Pacific region issued by ICHCAP since 2009. Every issue has its own theme under the title of the Windows to ICH, and the theme of the Vol 42 is 'ICH FESTIVALS ON THE SILK ROAD.'

This book contains the presentation and discussion of the above international conference in the form of an online strategic meeting with Webinar, and the first chapter contains webinar presentations on the theme of Life, Environment and Intangible Heritage of Silk Road. In addition, Chapter 2 contains rich examples of the diversity of intangible cultural heritage festivals, and chapters 3 and 4 contain network construction methods and presentations on joint cooperation projects through networks, respectively. In addition, a summary of each presentation and discussion on each topic were included, along with recommendations to create the Silk Road Intangible Heritage Network for 2021.