The scientific management and protection of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) cannot be separated from continuous innovation and the public’s active participation. The evolution of the value of local cultural heritage can help prevent the loss of valuable cultural identity and cultural heritage. This study is divided into two stages. In the first stage, the innovative practice of heritage education in colleges and universities is explored through the case studies of “She costumes culture” and “Quanzhou traditional embroidery skills”. In the second stage, a questionnaire survey on creative products and activities of technical, intangible cultural heritage is conducted. SPSS and AMOS are used for statistical analysis of the questionnaire results, and a total of 26 indicators are obtained, as well as six dimensions: heritage education, the local value of heritage, cultural participation, cultural identity, cultural and tourism integration, and cultural reflection. Among these are a covariant relationship between cultural tourism integration and heritage education, which shows that they play an equally significant role. Sustainable ICH education requires the government and local communities to make corresponding adjustments upon clarifying their own roles and functions in preserving cultural heritage. Ultimately, practical innovation in ICH requires more citizens to change their inherited cultural values. In particular, inheritors achieve sustainable protection of ICH through self-management.

Heritage education can enable social empowerment. Within the broader goal of social empowerment, a current challenge is to establish principles that promote social participation in traditional education. The practice of protecting intangible cultural heritage in China has developed its own unique working model based on the basic theoretical level of UNESCO. This research used cultural citizenship as a theoretical guide, focused on the traditional embroidery craftsmanship of China’s intangible cultural heritage, and conducted exploratory research on the learning intention and value influence indicators of citizens participating in intangible cultural heritage. The research design of this study was divided into two phases: the first phase was designed to collect evaluation indicators that affect the learning of intangible cultural heritage skills, and to support these data using semi-structured in-depth interviews. In the second phase, the convergence of the value indicators that affect the learning of intangible cultural heritage techniques was completed using questionnaire surveys and statistical analyses. Factor analysis was performed using SPSS software. SEM (structural equation modeling) confirmatory analysis was performed using Amos software. Through a two-stage hybrid study, a value recognition scale for the informal educational inheritance of intangible cultural heritage handicrafts was obtained within the local context of China. The scale contains four first-level indicators (ICH’s authenticity, cultural identity, performed value, and social recognition) and 17 second-level indicators. The research results were based on UNESCO’s education indicators for SDG 4, and put forward principles for practices aimed at protecting China’s intangible cultural heritage’s local informal education. Reflecting on the Chinese tradition of citizen participation in protecting intangible cultural heritage could provide references for the practice of intangible cultural heritage protection in other fields and regions. This is consistent with the UN’s SDG 4.7 (ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development).

Triggered by the rapid development of digital technology, Chinese clothing manufacturers have begun to provide digital customization for clothing. The digital transformation of clothing customization provides new opportunities to meet customers’ personalized needs and optimize production resources, and facilitates the sustainable development of the clothing customization industry. This study constructed dimensions of customer value in clothing customization, based on the development of the industry under digital technology. The research was divided into two phases: the first phase involved establishing customer value indicators through expert interviews, questionnaire design, and statistical analyses in SPSS; and the second stage involved the expert group conducting a consumer experience evaluation of a digital customization platform. Thirty customer value indicators were extracted and four dimensions were established: authenticity value, social value, aesthetic value, and utility value. The results of the study show that the value demands of Chinese consumers for apparel customization have shifted to perceptible authenticity values (service, experience, content). The four customer value dimensions proposed by this research can be used to evaluate customer value in digital customization consumption models.

With the development of cultural democratization, countries have attached increasing importance to the protection of cultural rights and the promotion of sustainable cultural development. The establishment of a flexible cultural governance model may release the transformative force of culture and creativity, gradually spread cultural values and ideas into governance, and shift activities to more sustainable behavior. This research was divided into two stages. In the first stage, CiteSpace was used to conduct a co-citation analysis of documents published between 2013 and 2022 in the Web of Science database. The results were combined with existing cultural development and value indicators from many countries to design cultural impact indicators suitable for evaluating the sustainable development of creative industries. In the second stage, a questionnaire survey was conducted on the cultural industry, the creative economy, and cultural consumption. Through statistical analysis, six dimensions were obtained, and 20 indicators were cultural sustainability, cultural democracy, cultural innovation, cultural industrialization, cultural vitality, and cultural policy systematization. The cultural governance framework of the creative economy and sustainable development was established through AMOS software. This study found that the humanistic rationality of cultural governance has a significant improvement and stable role in promoting the governance of cultural policies. Adjustable cultural impact indicators are effective cultural practices for shaping and framing creative industries, which should be invented, stabilized and improved.

Geographic information and the mapping analysis of scientific knowledge have proven to be effective for the management and monitoring of built heritage. To understand built heritage and the urban cultural space, this study incorporates the following integrated data: public surveys, researchers’ knowledge graphs, and urban map information. Firstly, the urban map of Quanzhou is used to analyze the spatial distribution of cultural heritage points. Secondly, Citespace literature co-citation analysis technology is used to establish a preliminary evaluation index of urban culture governance. Thirdly, a questionnaire survey was conducted on the creative economy and urban culture space, and a theoretical model of the urban culture ecosystem was established using Amos software, which includes six dimensions of “cultural inclusiveness, cultural sustainability, cultural integrity, cultural creativity, and cultural vitality”. Finally, a comparative analysis is conducted on the number of visitors to different types of cultural public spaces in Quanzhou City. The results show that exemplary local knowledge and deep historical memory are core elements for building an ideal cultural ecosystem and are necessary to promote cities toward a sustainable future.