BEIJING, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Cultural heritage often conjures images of the distant past: yellowed, crumpled pages, dust-covered artifacts, or centuries-old techniques that seem far removed from younger generations. But Li Ziqi, 36, has a different perspective.
Through her poetic portrayal of rural life and traditional crafts, the Chinese video creator has helped China's cultural heritage reach a global audience, amassing over 30 million YouTube subscribers.
At the 2026 Beijing Culture Forum, held earlier this week in Beijing, Li encouraged everyone, especially young people, to forge a closer bond with cultural heritage. "Culture does not exist solely in museum display cases. It lives in the fabric of everyday life," she said.
Her remarks echoed a broader discussion at the two-day forum, which brought together more than 600 guests from 44 countries and regions to discuss cultural heritage and mutual learning among civilizations.
For the first time since its 2022 debut, this year's event held a parallel forum focused on young people, highlighting their role in cultural heritage protection.
"For a long time, heritage protection was mainly a matter for older people, but young people are the future and should be aware of the importance of heritage," said Leonardo Barci Castriota, vice president of the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
While school education is essential to raise young people's awareness, it is also important to make cultural heritage more accessible by providing hands-on experiences beyond the classroom, Adam Green, a senior lecturer in sustainability at the University of York in Britain, told Xinhua.
Green cited a cultural program at York Minster, a historic cathedral, where young people were invited to design their own architectural creations with LEGO bricks, inspired by the building itself.
"It gets children thinking about the material in a creative, proactive, and critical way," he said, adding that such activities can "create an inclusive environment" for young people to engage with heritage resources and generate new visions.
In China, innovative programs are encouraging greater youth involvement in cultural heritage protection, with technology making it easier than ever for young people to take part.
One example is an initiative under the "Digital Central Axis" project, which uses digital tools to protect the Beijing Central Axis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Young people can photograph cultural landmarks along the axis and upload pictures to an online monitoring platform in real time.
To date, the initiative has collected more than 180,000 monitoring photos from nearly 30,000 participants, most aged 10 to 16. It offers young people a simple yet effective way to protect cultural heritage, said Li Wenxuan, head of the "Digital Central Axis" project.
Meanwhile, the forum also put the spotlight on young people pursuing careers in cultural heritage.
Zhong Fangrong, a Gen-Z researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Dunhuang Academy, once drew widespread attention on Chinese social media after choosing to study archaeology at Peking University, despite long-standing stereotypes that the field offered limited earning potential, particularly for students from low-income families.
Six years later, Zhong has no regrets over her decision and feels a strong sense of achievement from her excavation and recording work in the caves of Dunhuang, a key hub on the ancient Silk Road in Gansu Province, northwest China.
"What we document may have never been recorded before, but by preserving it today, we may leave something that people a hundred years from now can still draw on," she said.
Zhong is not alone. At the Dunhuang Academy, for example, Ding Xiaohong, deputy director of the Cultural Heritage Digitalization Research Institute, said most members of his team are young people from diverse academic backgrounds.
For young people, simply preserving what has been passed down is just the beginning of the story.
Lang Jiaziyu, a 31-year-old forum participant, is the third-generation inheritor of "Dough Figurine Lang," a folk art recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage (ICH) item in China. He believes that being an inheritor involves more than mastering the craft itself.
"On the one hand, we need to innovate our techniques and incorporate new elements into our works. On the other hand, an important task for our generation is to explore the potential of ICH and unlock its value across different industries," he said.
The tech-savvy inheritor now uses AI, 3D scanning, and other technologies to create short videos about his work and daily life for social media. He also plans to promote the traditional craft through video games and micro dramas.
In addition, Lang has taken his craft abroad through international cultural exchanges, introducing audiences across Asia, Europe and the Americas not only to his intricate figurines but also to the stories and cultural ideas behind them.
"As a young Chinese ICH inheritor, I feel proud and confident to showcase our culture on the global stage," he said.
These efforts cannot be sustained without national support for ICH protection, including policies, funding, and platforms, Lang added.
Li echoed this point at the forum, noting that the government, media, ICH inheritors, online content creators, and supportive netizens are all working together to create a positive environment for young people to grow in the cultural heritage sector.
Recently, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism released a plan for carrying forward ICH during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). The document specifies major tasks, including strengthening the cultivation of young talent in the sector.
"Whether in the online or offline world, cultural heritage is never carried forward by one person alone. It takes an entire chain of efforts, with every link essential and every part closely connected to the others," she said. ■
