Research on the Digital Transformation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Industry Chain: A Case Study of Sichuan Opera

Abstract

Against the background of China’s cultural development strategy and the rapid diffusion of “Internet Plus” technologies, the safeguarding and transmission of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) have entered a stage of digitalization. Sichuan Opera, one of the most representative traditional opera genres in southwest China, has encountered development bottlenecks in its traditional industry chain, including an aging and shrinking audience, a shortage of talent, spatially and temporally constrained dissemination, and weak commercial monetization. Taking the Sichuan Opera industry chain as its object, this paper conducts a qualitative single-case study based on policy documents, publicly available industry materials, and the existing literature. It first maps the constituent elements of the industry chain, then diagnoses the problems of the traditional chain, and explores pathways of digital transformation along three dimensions: e-commerce platform construction, cross-industry integration, and the application of new media technology. The study finds that “Internet Plus” can remove the spatial and temporal limitations on the dissemination of Sichuan Opera and reactivate the value of the industry chain; at the same time, the transformation process itself faces challenges of high technology costs, a shortage of interdisciplinary talent, and tension between cultural inheritance and commercial development. Accordingly, the paper proposes strategies covering policy support, talent cultivation, technology and user-experience optimization, and cultural supervision, in order to promote the sustainable development of the Sichuan Opera industry chain. The findings also provide a reference for the digital transformation of other traditional opera genres.