Dong! Dong! Dong! "The deafening sound of drums echoed along the banks of the Songhua River. In the suburbs of Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, dozens of Hezhe ethnic men dressed in traditional fish skin costumes walked into the opening ceremony of the 12th Wurigong Conference of the Hezhe ethnic group with neat steps. They held birch skin drums painted with exquisite totems, and the drum beats varied from slow to fast, as if recreating the magnificent scene of their ancestors fighting in the stormy waves, telling the story of the Hezhe tribe coexisting with nature for thousands of years. Hezhe nationality is one of the ethnic groups with a small population in China. It lives in Heilongjiang, Songhua River and Wusuli River basins for generations. Because it is located in the east of the motherland, it is called "the nation watching the sun". As an important festival passed down from generation to generation by the Hezhe ethnic group, the Uligong Festival carries the profound cultural memory of this fishing and hunting nation. Wu Baochen, a representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage Imakan, introduced that in the past, on the 15th day of the fifth lunar month, Hezhe people would spontaneously gather on the banks of Heilongjiang River to pray for a bountiful fishing and hunting harvest through solemn sacrificial ceremonies, and celebrate with joyful songs, dances, and competitive activities. This tradition has continued to this day and has now developed into a comprehensive national cultural event held every four years, lasting two to three days. It is held alternately by Hezhe ethnic settlements, and through rich and colorful cultural performances and sports competitions, ancient culture is revitalized. Today we prepared over 30 pounds of fish, all of which have been eaten. The Hezhe ethnic group's specialty dishes, such as raw fish and stewed carp, are very popular among everyone. ”At the intangible cultural heritage food exhibition area of the conference, Chef Shan Zeren from Xinyuan Fish Restaurant in Aoqi Town, Jiamusi City, was busy. While speaking, he added a few fresh carp to the boiling iron pot. In the competition area, Jie Yongliang, the representative inheritor of the Hezhe ethnic fish skin technique at the provincial level, brought six fish skin products to the exhibition. Among them, "Mo Rigen Kuoli" attracted a lot of attention. 'Mo Rigen' means hero, and 'Kuoli' means divine eagle. This work is taken from the legendary image of the divine eagle in the Hezhe tribe. My team and I spent nine months making it, from sketching and selecting suitable fish skins to layer by layer splicing and sewing, each process had to rely on manual labor. 'Jie Yongliang said that in recent years, more and more tourists have come to Hezhe tribe gathering places to immerse themselves in Hezhe culture. The Hezhe ethnic group has been living by fishing and hunting for generations, known as the "Fish Skin Tribe". As the symbol of the Hezhe ethnic group, the techniques of making fish skin and bones are the "living fossils" of the Hezhe ethnic group's history and culture, and have been listed as representative projects of national intangible cultural heritage. With the efforts of inheritors such as Jie Yongliang, ancient fish skin has entered modern life - he integrates modern elements such as animated images and urban landscapes into fish skin paintings, and shares the process of fish skin production on short video platforms. The images of tanning, cutting, and sewing have attracted a large number of young people. The fish skin can be so beautiful! "" This craftsmanship is so cool! "In the comment section, netizens' astonishment showed him the beauty of inheritance. What delighted him even more was that more and more tourists and study groups came specifically to Hezhe Village in Aoqi Town, a suburb of Jiamusi City where he was located, to make fish skin paintings, wear fish skin clothes, and eat fresh and tender river fish. Tourists understand the survival wisdom of the Hezhe ethnic group's "fish skin as clothing" during the process of participating in the experience. This dynamic inheritance model not only continues the ancient skills, but also endows the tourism experience with new value. During the Uligong Conference, Professor Wang Lizhen from the School of Chinese Minority Languages and Literature at the Central University for Nationalities brought his students to study in Jiamusi. The fish and birch bark products participating in the competition are becoming more and more exquisite year by year, and the on-site visits are more shocking than what is felt in books. She said that every time she comes here, she can feel the innovative expression of traditional culture. The 'intangible cultural heritage+research and education+tourism' model is becoming a new engine for local cultural and tourism development. ”Sun Xiaodan, Deputy Director of the Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau in the suburbs of Jiamusi City, introduced that since 2024, Aoqi Town has received more than 300000 tourists, and the fishing and hunting culture of the Hezhe ethnic group has become a golden signboard for local cultural and tourism development. We are building the 'Four Seasons Hezhe' tourism brand. The Spring Kaijiang Festival, Summer Wuri Gong, Autumn Fishing and Hunting Experience, and Winter Ice and Snow Folk Customs truly bring traditional culture to life and ignite. ”Sun Xiaodan said. As the sun sets, the melody of Imakan still echoes along the riverbank. From lively song and dance performances to thrilling sports competitions, from ancient oral epics to innovative cultural and tourism experiences, the Uligong Festival not only safeguards the most precious cultural memory of the Hezhe ethnic group, but also creates even more brilliant waves in the wave of the new era. This gathering, spanning thousands of years, is telling the story of the 'sun watching nation' that continues to thrive in the most vivid way possible. (New Society)