Feature: "Ancestry awakening" sees Chinese youth reconnect with traditional culture

This file photo provided by the interviewee taken in 2023 shows a scene during a performance of the Zi De Guqin Studio in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua)

Editor's note: Young people are often seen as the driving force for renewal and growth. As 2025 begins, Xinhua presents a series of five stories exploring the passions and pursuits of young Chinese, from the perspectives of consumption, careers, culture, innovation and lifestyle, discovering how they are reshaping the country's future trajectory. This is the second piece on their inspiring journey.

by Bai Xu, Tian Ying and Tang Min'an

BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Huo Deyu patiently weaves a headpiece and crafts props for a character she is about to portray online, before beginning on her makeup. Soon, the magic happens: she has transformed herself into a painted statue of a goddess.

In a resurgence of interest celebrated online as an "ancestry awakening," Huo is among a growing cohort of young Chinese embracing their country's traditional culture, a heritage which dates back thousands of years.

The 29-year-old university dance major from Jiangsu Province, east China, has been sharing her transformations on social media for about four years and now boasts 530,000 followers on the Xiaohongshu lifestyle platform. Her latest videos, which include imitations of painted statues from the Yuhuang Temple in north China's Shanxi Province, were filmed following the site's surge in popularity connected to the recent release of the "Black Myth: Wukong" video game.

"I was fascinated by the costume design of the statues and the mysterious nature of the characters, which inspired me to delve into the study of these ancient artworks," Huo said, adding that she found great joy in the process.

She has gone so far as to learn how to make velvet flowers, a craft that has been listed as a form of intangible cultural heritage in Jiangsu.

Her imitation videos are especially popular, averaging over 1 million views.

She began learning traditional Chinese dance at the age of four, drawn by the elegance of the art form.

"Compared to our parents' generation, we started to learn about traditional culture at a relatively early age," Huo told Xinhua. "We no longer see it as something only found in museums. Rather, we want to feel traditional culture and breathe new life into it."

Huo has noticed that she is not alone in her love for combining traditional culture with modern elements, and noted the rising availability of cultural products that appeal to the masses today.

LOVE AND TOLERANCE

A China Youth Daily poll completed in 2024 saw 85.8 percent of 1,000 young respondents say they believe that intangible cultural heritage has been gaining popularity in China in recent years. Regarding how they learn about traditional culture, 53.3 percent of respondents said they choose to watch shows and 50.4 percent said they opted for museum visits. Interest in buying creative cultural products was expressed by 40.5 percent of respondents, and 31.9 percent said they would like to take part in cultural activities.

The "Chinese Poetry Competition" TV show has been captivating audiences for years. Contestants come from all walks of life, with scientists, students, delivery workers, police officers and pilots all having tried their luck on past versions, a testament to the universal accessibility of classical poetry.

Traditional attire, or Hanfu, is also enjoying a resurgence, with Hanfu rental and photography stores popping up all over the country. And, farther afield, it is not uncommon to see Chinese people playing traditional folk instruments on the streets of London, Paris, Sydney or other major global cities.

In line with the rising popularity of traditional culture, cultural clubs and groups are mushrooming in number. Zi De Guqin Studio, a band whose members play traditional Chinese instruments, is among the most successful examples.

Zi De Guqin Studio was formed in 2014 and most of its members are in their 20s. The band has gained national fame in recent years, after appearing in the televised "Mid-Autumn Festival Gala" dressed in Hanfu.

Though their work focuses on their love for traditional Chinese culture, the musicians say that this doesn't mean they reject other cultures.

Band member Wang Muyu, 24, is a student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music who plays the violin and the pipa, a Chinese folk instrument. She is interested in both Chinese and Western culture, and both instruments can pull on her heartstrings, she said. "The emotions of all human beings are connected."

Some of the songs Zi De enjoys playing most are combinations of Chinese and Western elements, she said.

In the band's repertoire are pieces from the "Harry Potter" film series, "The Phantom of the Opera" musical and the "Doraemon" anime TV series. "These pieces are welcomed by our audiences, who interact energetically with us when we perform them," she said.

The band has also performed overseas, in countries such as Japan and Malaysia, where they have been welcomed by local audiences. "They are curious and ask us a lot of questions," Wang said. "And the Chinese people there are touched to see the culture of their home country."

CONFIDENCE, INCREASED EXPOSURE

Zhu Liyue, who fronts the band, believes that young people's newfound love for traditional culture stems from their confidence in their country.

"They are living in an era when China is strong and moving toward rejuvenation," he told Xinhua, noting that people in a more developed China are able to turn out better products to promote their culture.

His view is shared by Zhang Yiwu, a cultural studies professor at Peking University who believes that young people's passion for traditional culture symbolizes a relatively stable, rich and prosperous society -- one which is different from the society of their parents' youth, when people had to work hard to earn their bread.

"Foreign language skills among young people have also improved greatly, which enables them to learn about other cultures," he said. While young Chinese people show an interest in Western culture through foreign literature and cinema, they feel a deeper connection to Chinese culture, which is woven into the fabric of their upbringing.

Traditional culture now has a lot more exposure in Chinese society, thanks to social media, movies and TV drama, and with cultural elements incorporated into various important occasions -- like the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Summer and Winter Olympics, and the national uniforms worn by Chinese athletes in arenas all over the world -- young people are inspired to learn more about their culture.

Many young people working in jobs related to the promotion of traditional Chinese culture have good prospects, Zhang said. "This is both a result of their love for their culture and a response to this social trend," he said, noting that they then go on to inspire others in a virtuous circle.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's cultural industry and related industries contributed nearly 5.38 trillion yuan (about 737 billion U.S. dollars) -- or 4.46 percent -- of the country's gross domestic product in 2022.

PASSION FOR PROMOTION

A group of young people in Changsha, Hunan Province, is working to promote traditional handicrafts using a profitable business model.

The group established Zhiliao Youths, a company that began by making documentaries about artisans, many of whom practice traditional Chinese crafts that have been recognized as intangible cultural heritage. As soon as the company's series "The Great Shokunin" premiered in 2016, it became an instant hit, attracting university graduates like Dai Lyuxia, now 29, to join the company.

"I was captivated by the elegant Chinese aesthetics showcased in the series," said Dai, who studied journalism, reflecting on what inspired her career choice. Now six years into her job as e-commerce team leader with Zhiliao Youths, Dai proudly states, "It's both my profession and my passion."

The company's business now encompasses video content creation, the sale of handicrafts and other intangible cultural heritage commodities on e-commerce platforms, and the offline marketing of creative museum souvenirs.

One challenge she faced in her work was the selection of handicrafts for the 2024 Spring Festival, she said, for which she traveled to Yangjiabu, a remote village in east China's Shandong Province famed for its traditional New Year woodblock prints.

Dai remembers seeing art shops flanking the streets, and few tourists. She sifted through countless prints, she said, before one caught her eye. "It depicts a fictional money tree, symbolizing wealth and decorated with colorful images of bronze coins and treasure-filled basins."

Her team then designed elegant packaging for the money tree prints, filming a series of promotional vlogs and creating social media posts featuring images and illustrations of the print to ensure the product received ample exposure.

In a year the team has sold approximately 15,000 of the prints, grossing 1.5 million yuan, the majority of which is paid to the artists who make them.

"Everyone here loves our traditional culture, and we have the passion to understand it and to promote these products to more people," she said.

Huo, who continues to post her creative imitations on social media, is also passionate about popularizing traditional culture. "The strength of our country has provided a solid foundation for the revival and passing on of traditional culture, and our ancestral treasures deserve more attention and love from the masses, who could hand them down for thousands more years to come." Enditem

(Zhao Jinzheng and Yu Simiao contributed to the story.)

This file photo provided by the interviewee taken in October 2024 in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province shows Huo Deyu posing for a shooting in imitation of painted statues from the Yuhuang Temple. (Xinhua)