SHENZHEN, Guangdong, May 17 -- Sheng Yiyuan gave up the traditional and time-consuming method of hammering out tinware crafts and shifted to mass production nine years ago.

Sheng opened his own company in 2002 and the tinware products it produced were soon in hot demand both at home and abroad.

Like other tinware craftsmen, Sheng embraced modern manufacturing while largely abandoning centuries-old traditional methods.

Sheng envisioned a rebirth of the time-honored craft in 2006 when traditional tinware workmanship was listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage, a recognition of its cultural value.

He hired several experienced craftsmen and resumed the craft.

Today, traditionally-made tinware handicrafts account for half of the company's annual sales of about 60 million yuan (9.2 million U.S. dollars).

Sheng's tinware products were displayed at the China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair that concluded Monday.

Along with tinware handicrafts, 207 items of intangible cultural heritage were showcased at the fair, such as a sacred form of Tibetan painting known as Thangka, porcelain paintings and Suzhou embroideries.

In 2004, China embarked on a nationwide effort to preserve and promote its various forms of intangible cultural heritage, including traditional oral literature, performing arts, craftsmanship, medicine and folk customs.

In February, China's top legislature passed the country's first law for intangible cultural heritage, scheduled to take effect June 1.

The law states that the State Council and provincial governments must create lists of representative intangible cultural heritage for national and local levels, respectively.

Governments at all levels will assist with intangible cultural heritage preservation efforts in ethnic minority areas, remote areas and poverty-stricken areas, according to the law.

The law also supports representative heirs in carrying forward intangible cultural heritage items and conducting follow-up personnel training.

The heirs of intangible cultural heritage can receive up to 10,000 yuan (1,521 U.S. dollars) from the central budget as financial support, according to the law.

"The government's efforts in preserving intangible cultural heritage have enabled us to bring new life to traditional craftsmanship," Sheng said.

Currently, the protection of intangible cultural heritage is largely in the preservation stage, and marketing these forms of heritage are of the same importance, said Liu Mikui of the Hainan Provincial Cultural Department.

"We need to further explore ways to market intangible cultural heritage and to expand and diversify these important cultural resources," Liu said.

"Traditional workmanship has its own vitality and what we need to do is to combine it with modern life," said Zhang Minqin, an embroidery expert at the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute in east China's Zhejiang Province.

"To preserve intangible cultural heritage does not mean that we can not modify or upgrade it. To usher in modern elements while maintaining its traditional core value is an important way to further expand the market of intangible cultural heritage," Zhang said.