An engraved seal is on display at the Du Fu Thatched Cottage gallery in Chengdu on Saturday. Photo: Xu Liuliu/GT

As part of the ongoing 5th International Festival for Intangible Cultural Heritages, a Chinese seal engraving exhibition, Seal Chengdu, Young Artist Exhibition, opened its doors at Chengdu's Du Fu Thatched Cottage gallery on Saturday.

The biennial exhibition features art work from 109 young artists. With its more than 3,000 years of history, Chinese seal engraving was considered one of the four essential skills for scholars in ancient China together with calligraphy, poetry and painting.

According to exhibition organizer the Xiling Seal Engravers Society, some artists taking part in the exhibition, such as Han Tianheng, Li Gangtian and Sun Weizu, not only are members of the society, but also possess great reputations in art circles.

Many of the inscriptions on display feature lines of poetry about the city of Chengdu.

Chinese seal engraving was listed as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2009. Zhu Peier, from the Chinese Calligraphers Association, emphasized that exhibitions such as these are an important part of raising public awareness about this traditional art. "We can appreciate this art from many angles, engraving, calligraphy, materials used and the skill involved," he added.

Global Times