Chinese people are becoming more concerned about their traditional culture. Many Chinese, including some deputies to the National People's Congress, have proposed that traditional Chinese festivals such as the Pure Bright Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day) and Mid-Autumn Festival be designated as statutory holidays.

It is true that many traditional Chinese festivals are losing their sheen among Chinese people, especially among the younger generation, as foreign festivals are coming in and taking over. Some people attempt to explain this phenomenon from a folkloric perspective, saying that Western festivals are popular with young people because these festivals are devoted to merrymaking, while traditional Chinese festivals usually emphasize family reunion, therefore they are considered a burden by many young people. Still others argue that the popularity of Western festivals is created by the merchandisers as a gimmick to encourage spending.

There is some truth in these arguments, but they overlook a more fundamental point. Traditional Chinese festivals are rich in variety and content, hence they have no less economic as well as aesthetic value than Western festivals if they are properly utilized. From this perspective, I believe that traditional festivals are declining in popularity not because they are less interesting or of less economic value, but because many Chinese, especially young people, lack a sense of identification with traditional Chinese culture.

In the minds of many Chinese people, traditional culture is a backward and shameful legacy of feudal China. This kind of thinking is a result of a century-long history of national humiliation. Before the 19th century, China was a giant empire with a refined civilization. Since the Opium wars, China was bullied, trampled, looted and carved up by Western powers and Japan. China was a battered country and everything it had was subject to question and derogation. Under such historic circumstances, many Chinese have come round to the view that traditional Chinese culture is the root of China's ills and the biggest obstacle to the country's modernization drive.

Loss of a sense of identification with traditional culture is also one of the main reasons why modern Chinese people have destroyed many properties of traditional cultural significance. Over the past years, numerous cultural and historic sites have been destroyed in the name of modernization. No one knows how many archaeological and historic sites have been destroyed or how many unexcavated cultural properties have been bulldozed over and laid underneath modern buildings and highways.

Traditional heritage, including traditional festivals are important characteristics of our ethnic identity. Understanding the importance of passing on traditional culture to the younger generations is not enough. There must be concrete measures to see that it is done. We must create a favourable environment and necessary conditions for raising public awareness of traditional culture and heritages.

Setting traditional festivals as public holidays can fortify Chinese people's sense of identification with traditional culture. However, more importance must be given to cultural heritage. If economic considerations always take precedence over everything else, regardless of the irreparable destruction to cultural heritage, then even more traditional festivals and world heritage won't help enhance people's sense of cultural identification.