Yao Siying, an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage from Suzhou, is currently pursuing a PhD in Cultural Studies at the Macao University of Tourism (UTM). She has recently received the prestigious “Three-Leading” (San Dai) honour, jointly awarded by the Office of the Talent Work Leading Group of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Jiangsu Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security. The “Three-Leading” title recognises excellence in three areas: leading technical heritage, leading industrial growth, and leading community prosperity. The award acknowledges her outstanding contributions to olive pit carving heritage, industry innovation, and helping local women gain employment and increase their income.
Siying earned her master’s degree in Managing Archaeological Sites from University College London, where she was supervised by Dr. Gai Jorayev. Under his guidance, she entered the field of international cultural heritage conservation. Dr. Jorayev, currently serves as UTM’s Assistant Professor as well as Siying’s PhD supervisor, did not only cultivate her international perspective and critical thinking, but also instructed her in digital conservation techniques. Siying’s guiding belief is that “craftsmanship must be seen, and artisans must be remembered.” She hopes to open new paths for the transmission and revitalisation of intangible cultural heritage by combining academic research with hands-on practice.
Speaking about why she enrolled in UTM, Siying says: “On the one hand, the university offered a scholarship that eased my financial burden. On the other hand, UTM has a diverse faculty team who have given me tremendous support in both my studies and daily life. I have also met a faculty member who is an inheritor, and I have learned how they view the local cultural ecosystem.”
Integrating Practical Experience with Doctoral Research
Siying holds the certifications of Intermediate Craft Artist, Rural Revitalisation Artisan, and Suzhou Outstanding Young Inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage. She established a farmers’ cooperative in Suzhou, teaching local women olive pit carving and participating in rural tourism demonstration projects. These practical experiences have allowed her to observe from within how artisan communities organise production and engage with the market.
Since starting her PhD at UTM, she transformed these practical experiences into research topic. Her research focuses on the revitalisation and transmission of craft-based ICH, using Suzhou olive pit carving as a case study. “The dilemmas I encountered in practice, under my supervisor’s guidance, deepened into theoretical debates about ‘authenticity’ and ‘performativity’ in heritage,” she explains. Her doctoral research has transformed her from a pure practitioner into a reflective practitioner and knowledge producer – moving from “documenting with a knife” to “documenting with a pen.”
Reflecting on her recent “Three-Leading” award, Siying says: “In the past, I relied on the passion and execution skills that my grandmother and mother, as artisans, taught me. But after coming to UTM, academic discourses such as cultural sustainability, inclusive growth, and community empowerment have made me rethink the meaning of ‘Three-Leading’.” She has begun to consider how to cultivate cultural identity and creative capacity among younger generations, how to draw on the twin-city experiences of Suzhou and Macao to create “micro cultural-tourism ecosystems”, and how to shift from purely economic indicators to “cultural empowerment”, ensuring that communities have decision-making power and benefit fairly. “These reflections have given the ‘Three-Leading’ title a clearer cultural foundation and social warmth,” she says.
UTM’s Academic Support and Macao’s Nourishment
As a first-cohort PhD student in UTM’s Cultural Studies programme, Siying is deeply appreciative. “My supervisor emphasises both theoretical depth and practical engagement, encouraging us to go into the field, to touch, to talk, and to feel. This academic style fits perfectly with the ‘learning by doing’ belief I inherited from my family of artisans.”
The city of Macao itself is a rich field for research. As a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, it reminds her that ICH is not only about visual skills and hand techniques, but also about smell, taste, and living rituals. Walking through Macao’s historic centre, with its living Sino‑Western architecture and still‑active popular religious spaces, she has gained a deeper understanding of “living heritage”. “The contrasts and resonances between Suzhou and Macao, two UNESCO Creative Cities, provide an excellent twin‑city framework for my comparative research,” she notes.
For students who wish to pursue careers or research in cultural heritage or traditional crafts, Siying offers three pieces of advice: “First, keep both skill and theory – craftsmanship and knowledge are equally indispensable. Second, cultivate the ability of ‘cultural translation’ – learn to tell the same cultural story to different audiences. Third, always respect the cultural bearers – the artisans are the important inheritors of heritage.”