Three cities in China have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network, according to the Global Times.
The distinction of "City of Crafts and Folk Art" was given to Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, and Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Povince, both in east China, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Education on Thursday.
Shunde in south China's Guangdong Province, meanwhile, was accorded the title "City of Gastronomy."
UNESCO's Creative Cities Network presently has 69 cities listed from 32 countries, among which China has eight.
The other Chinese cities are Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou.
Created in 2004, the network is geared toward encouraging artistic innovation and maintaining and celebrating diversity in culture among the peoples of the world.
The project enjoins its member cities to impart their experiences in advancing their local heritage and present methods to deal with globalization.
The network supports the member cities' endeavors in creating cultural products that best reflect the talents of their citizens, and these fields of excellence are identified by UNESCO as literature, film, music, craft and folk art, design, media arts and gastronomy.