digit in a decimal number, the computation capacity of the suanpan is only limited by the number of rods on the suanpan. When a mathematician runs out of rods, another suanpan can be added to the left of the first. In theory, the suanpan can be expanded indefinitely in this way. Modern usage Suanpan arithmetic was still being taught in school in Hong Kong as recently as the late 1960s, and in China into the 1990s. In some less-developed industry, the suanpan (abacus) is still in use as a primary counting device and back-up calculating method. However, when handheld calculators became readily available, school children's willingness to learn the use of the suanpan decreased dramatically. In the early days of handheld calculators, news of suanpan operators beating electronic calculators in arithmetic competitions in both speed and accuracy often appeared in the media. Early electronic calculators could only handle 8 to 10 significant digits, whereas suanpans can be built to virtually limitless precision. But when the functionality of calculators improved beyond simple arithmetic operations, most people realized that the suanpan could never compute higher functions – such as those in trigonometry – faster than a calculator. As digitalised calculators seemed to be more efficient and user-friendly, their functional capacities attract more technological-related and large scale industries in application. Nowadays, even though calculators have become more affordable and convenient, suanpans are still commonly used in China. Many parents still tend to send their children to private tutors or school- and government-sponsored after school activities to learn bead arithmetic as a learning aid and a stepping stone to faster and more accurate mental arithmetic, or as a matter of cultural preservation. Speed competitions are still held. In 2013, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has inscribed Suanpans on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This has included the Chinese Zhusuan, knowledge and practices of mathematical calculation through the Suanpans (abacus). Zhusuan is named after the Chinese name of abacus, which has been recognised as one of the Fifth Great Innovation in China Suanpans and Zhusuan are still widely used elsewhere in China and Japan, as well as in a few places in Canada and the United States. With its historical value, it has symbolized the traditional cultural identity. It contributes to the advancement of calculating techniques and intellectual development, which closely relate to the cultural-related industry like