Zhu, YujieWang, S-LRowlands, MZhu, Y2023-05-15978-0-367-46812-5http://hdl.handle.net/1885/291048Based on a critical analysis of the ethnic-religious practices at two Chinese minority areas that have been severely affected by earthquakes, this chapter examines the cultural, social and political impacts of intangible cultural heritage on post-disaster recovery of ethnic communities and their religious practices. The integration of language derived from the intangible heritage discourse into government-driven policies has led to the legitimisation of top-down post-disaster reconstruction and ethnic minority’s regulation. Alongside demonstrating state power in post-disaster cultural recovery, intangible heritage has transformed ethnic, religious practices into recreational, educational and commercial consumption. Intangible cultural heritage has become a new tool for the state to regulate cultural and spiritual aspects of ethnic communities while highlighting state priorities in national unity, social cohesion and poverty alleviation.This research project is funded by the research grant of the ANU College of Arts and Social Science and the ANU Humanities Research Centre Fellowshipapplication/pdfen-AU© 2021202110.4324/9781003031291-62022-03-13