The Ministry of Culture has announced its first recommendation list of 501 intangible cultural heritage items on December 31, 2005 for a 30-day public review.

The People's Daily reported Tuesday that the recommended items fall into 10 categories: folk literature, music, dance, drama, folk arts, acrobatics, fine arts, handicraft, traditional medicine and folk customs.

On the list are some famous cultural heritages like the Han ethnic group's love tale Liangzhu, Tibetan epic The Life of King Gesar or King Gesar, Mongolian long-tune folk songs, Uygur folk music Muqam and Wuqiao acrobatics.

Also on the list are traditional Chinese festivals like the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.

The newspaper quoted ministry sources as saying that a total of 1315 items had been initially submitted for review.