The Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently released its 2026 funding list for key lab projects. A total of 12 projects were selected, two of which were from Jiangsu.

This funding program, a core R&D initiative under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, aims to advance digital technologies for intangible cultural heritage conservation and real-world application of lab results. The two projects from Jiangsu are Research on Intelligent Block Separation and Layout Algorithms for Jiangsu Watermark Woodblock Prints based on Large Model Technology by the key lab for research on watermark woodblock print materials and technology at Jiangsu Art Museum and Construction of a Multimodal Knowledge Graph and Digitally Intelligent Database for Intangible Chinese Culinary Techniques by the key lab for the conservation of intangible Chinese culinary techniques at Yangzhou University.

The first lab, hosted by Jiangsu Art Museum, is the sole national key lab under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism dedicated to the study, creation, and promotion of watermark woodblock prints—a printmaking form unique to China.

The second lab leverages the interdisciplinary strengths of Yangzhou University, integrating expertise in culinary nutrition, food science and engineering, and tourism management. Centered on Huaiyang cuisine heritage, the lab devotes itself to culinary inheritance and simulation technology to preserve and promote the broader Chinese culinary cultural system.