| News | Youth Innovation Brings Heritage “Alive” in the Present |
| PublishDate：2025-12-16 Hits：42 |
 Group Photo of the Closing Ceremony of the 2025 Lijiang World Heritage Study Tour Activity
On December 4, 2025, marking the 28th anniversary of Lijiang Ancient Town’s inscription as a World Heritage Site and the 21st “Lijiang World Heritage Day”, the Achievement Exhibition and Closing Ceremony of “Ripple Action: Lijiang World Heritage Study Tour Activity” under the UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers Initiative (WHV) was successfully held in Lijiang Ancient Town.
Co-organized by the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO Shanghai (WHITR-AP Shanghai), the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau, the Beautiful Nostalgia Public Welfare Team, and Lijiang Teachers College, this event centered on the core theme of “Heritage Homeland · Stories of People”. 15 young volunteers from various universities across China completed a 10-day immersive heritage protection practice, presenting a practical report that combines professional depth with humanistic warmth.
On the morning of the same day, the closing ceremony was held at the New Era Civilization Practice Station of Xinhua Community, Dayan Sub-district, Lijiang Ancient Town, hosted by Liu Zhen, Project Specialist of the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO Shanghai (WHITR-AP Shanghai). Representatives from the organizers and co-organizers attended the ceremony, including Mu Li, Director of the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau; He Yaochun, Deputy Director of the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau; Shi Shouzeng, Dean of the Lijiang Ancient Town Cultural Heritage Research Institute; Zhang Zhiyao, Deputy Party Secretary of Lijiang Teachers College; Zhou Jiang, Deputy Secretary of the Communist Youth League Committee of Lijiang Teachers College; Pu Rong, Dean of the School of Tourism and Economic Management of Lijiang Teachers College; and Cui Jiaying, Co-founder of the Beautiful Nostalgia Public Welfare Team.
Representatives of the interviewees featured in Lijiang Ancient Town: Local Chronicles of Its People also attended the ceremony to witness the successful conclusion of the event, including He Yumiao, person in charge of Xihe·Naxi Family; He Wenguang, person in charge of Jiefeng Building; Xuan Zhilian, person in charge of Xuan Ke Academy; Li Junxing, curator of Hengyugong Folk Residence Museum; Gu Ronggui, inheritor of the Tongxinfu caravan legacy; He Shixi, Section Chief of the Cultural Protection Section of the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau; Bai Chunlin, person in charge of Shiyun Book Club; Chen Zhi, founder of Baisha Embroidery Art Academy; and Nian Runwen, inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Lijiang Naxi silverware craftsmanship.
 Liu Zhen, Project Specialist of WHITR-AP Shanghai, hosted the closing ceremony
 Zhang Zhiyao, Deputy Party Secretary of Lijiang Teachers College (left), Mu Li, Director of the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau (middle), and He Yaochun, Deputy Director of the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau (right), attended the closing ceremony
The ceremony kicked off with a documentary video recording the entire process of this Youth Innovation Camp, recreating the vivid scenes of volunteers wandering through the streets and alleys, interviewing craftsmen, and preparing for courses. From volunteers visiting cultural courtyards to having in-depth conversations with inheritors, from the laughter and joy in heritage education classes to working together as one in exhibition setup, every frame captures this precious shared memory. It also allows the on-site guests to intuitively feel the mutual embrace between young people and the ancient town.
Documentary Video of the Entire Process of the 2025 Lijiang Ancient Town World Cultural Heritage Youth Innovation Camp
(Filmed by © Liu Zhen & Volunteers; Edited by © Liu Zhen; Background Music © Zhou Shen’s <I’ll Be There>)
This heritage practice journey continues the full-process model of Ripple Action – "Research – Creation – Practice – Presentation". Young volunteers delved deep into the fabric of the ancient town, injecting vigorous vitality into the dynamic inheritance of the world cultural heritage with their youthful creativity, and ultimately achieved three core outcomes.
Lijiang Ancient Town: Local Chronicles of Its People and Achievement Exhibition
“The value of the ancient town lies not only in its architectural style of blue tiles and white walls, but also in the vivid lives of those who persist here.” During the Innovation Camp, young volunteers divided into groups to visit three categories of people: craftsmen, guardians, and innovators. They conducted in-depth conversations with 16 figures from the ancient town, captured the daily lives and perseverance of inheritors through words and images, and compiled them into Lijiang Ancient Town: Local Chronicles of Its People.
In conjunction with the “Lijiang World Heritage Day” on December 4, young volunteers exhibited the outcomes of this camp to the public at Yuhe Square in Lijiang Ancient Town, and recorded exhibition explanation videos. They presented the stories of the characters through multiple dimensions such as pictures, texts, and images, transforming heritage from “static words” to “dynamic communication”. The exhibition will then tour Fang Guoyu Primary School in Lijiang Ancient Town, Lijiang Teachers College, Lijiang Ancient Town Visitor Center and other locations, continuing to spread the ripple of the younger generation’s participation in cultural heritage communication.
 Lijiang Ancient Town: Local Chronicles of Its People
 
The First Stop of the Lijiang Innovation Camp Achievement Exhibition Debuts at Yuhe Square in Lijiang Ancient Town Volunteers Explaining the Achievement Exhibition to the Public (Filmed & Edited by © Liu Zhen)
Cultural Courtyard Map of Lijiang Ancient Town
To address the dilemma that "even fine wine fears deep alleys" for the cultural courtyards in the ancient town, volunteers conducted on-site surveys of over 30 courtyards and landmarks, and designed a youth-innovative cultural map tailored to communication needs. The map not only marks locations and features, but also incorporates volunteers’ real visiting experiences, injecting youthful vitality into the ancient courtyards with young people’s creativity and attracting more people to explore the hidden cultural landmarks of the ancient town.
 Lead Design Volunteers Explaining the Cultural Courtyard Map to the Public
Front Side of the Cultural Courtyard Map of Lijiang Ancient Town © All Rights Reserved by Lijiang Innovation Camp
 Cui Jiaying (middle), Co-founder of the Beautiful Nostalgia Public Welfare Team and PhD candidate in Urban and Rural Planning at Tongji University, introduced the Cultural Courtyard Map to Mu Li (left), Director of the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau, and He Yaochun (right), Deputy Director of the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau.
Youth Heritage Education Classes
Cultural inheritance requires the relay efforts of generations. Young volunteers walked into Dayan Central Primary School and Fang Guoyu Primary School, century-old schools in the ancient town, to popularize knowledge about world heritage. Through the design of “five-sense” interactive activities, they enabled children to immerse themselves in experiencing the heritage of their homeland while designing Dongba paper bookmarks, creating posters of cultural courtyards, and making scrolls about caravan stories. Using methods popular among teenagers and children, the volunteers sowed the seeds of protection and inheritance in the hearts of the children, ensuring the cultural context of the ancient town is passed down from generation to generation.
Heritage Education Classes Enter Campus
 Volunteers Introducing the Overview of Heritage Education Class Activities to the Public
At the closing ceremony, the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO Shanghai (WHITR-AP Shanghai) presented a copy of the book World Heritage in China: Historical City to the Lijiang Ancient Town Museum (Mu Mansion). Li Hongmei, Deputy Director of the External Publicity Department of the Lijiang Ancient Town Museum (Mu Mansion), and He Wanping, a docent at Mu Mansion, accepted the book on behalf of Mu Mansion.
As part of the “World Heritage in China” book series, this book details Pingyao, Lijiang, Macao, and Gulangyu Island, which are listed in China’s World Heritage City roster. As living cultural heritage sites, their historical development and changes, urban spaces, architectural groups, living environments, cultural characteristics, and conservation practices are vividly elaborated and analyzed. It helps readers gain an in-depth understanding of the value and significance of historical cities among world cultural heritage sites, adding precious materials to local heritage research and public education.
 WHITR-AP Shanghai Presents a Book to Mu Mansion
(From left to right: Liu Zhen, He Wanping, Li Hongmei)
During the certificate awarding session, four instructors—Liu Zhen, Project Specialist of the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO Shanghai (WHITR-AP Shanghai); Shi Shouzeng, Dean of the Lijiang Ancient Town Cultural Heritage Research Institute; Cui Jiaying, Co-founder of the Beautiful Nostalgia Public Welfare Team; and Li Jihong, Deputy Secretary of the Party General Branch of the School of Tourism and Economic Management at Lijiang Teachers College—represented the organizers and presented UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) certificates in both Chinese and English to all volunteers. This certificate is not only recognition of the volunteers’ hard work and practical achievements, but also engraves the cultural bond between young people and the ancient town, serving as a precious memento of their participation in world heritage conservation efforts.
Mu Li, Director of the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau, and Zhang Zhiyao, Deputy Party Secretary of Lijiang Teachers College, jointly presented honorary certificates to the instructors and expressed their gratitude!
Instructors Presenting Certificates to Volunteers
Mu Li (right), Director of the Lijiang Ancient Town Conservation and Management Bureau, and Zhang Zhiyao (left), Deputy Party Secretary of Lijiang Teachers College, presented certificates to the instructors.
Volunteers also presented Lijiang Ancient Town: Local Chronicles of Its People, the Cultural Courtyard Map, and self-made cultural and creative gifts (photographic postcards and bookmarks) to the event organizers, instructors, and interviewed guests to express their gratitude.
At the end of the ceremony, the organizers and volunteers jointly launched the Ripple Action Lijiang Initiative, calling on more young people to pay attention to and participate in cultural heritage protection, and to shape the future through action.
 Guests Reading Lijiang Ancient Town: Local Chronicles of Its People
  Self-made Photographic Postcards and Bookmark Cultural and Creative Products by Volunteers © All Rights Reserved by Lijiang Innovation Camp
Volunteer Representatives Reading the Ripple Action Lijiang Initiative
 Ripple Action Lijiang Initiative
The event concluded with a volunteer sharing session, where each group took the stage to speak in turn. Every volunteer talked freely about their practical achievements, growth gains, new understanding of the ancient town, and in-depth reflections on heritage protection.
 Sharing Session by Volunteers of the “Craftsman Group”
Sharing Session by Volunteers of the “Guardian Group”
Sharing Session by Volunteers of the “Innovation Group”
Volunteer PengZhen said: “In practice, I truly felt the cultural warmth of Lijiang. The stories of the ancient town are essentially the stories of people. We interviewed many intangible cultural heritage (ICH) inheritors and cultural guardians, and saw perseverance, passion, and a sense of responsibility in them. These craftsmen have dedicated their lives to safeguarding a single craft, and their spirit has deeply inspired me. As a cultural heritage researcher, I will carry this strength with me and continue to devote myself to the cause of protection and inheritance.”
Peng Zhen, a volunteer from Tongji University, telling stories about the interviewees to the public
Volunteer Zou Ruiqi shared: “We conducted in-depth visits to the cultural courtyards in the ancient town, recorded the stories of young craftsmen and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) inheritors, and integrated these contents into heritage education classes to help the new generation of teenagers understand the value of heritage. In the future, I will continue to focus on heritage education, speak out through online platforms, and bring courses to Lijiang Teachers College, encouraging more peers to think: as young people, how should we safeguard our cultural roots.”
Zou Ruiqi, a volunteer from Lijiang Teachers College, being interviewed by the media
From the germination of original aspirations at the opening to the fruitful achievements at the closing, the Lijiang Innovation Camp is not only a beneficial practice of the UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) program, but also a bridge for young people to participate in heritage protection. As one of the Chinese projects among the 89 selected global projects, the case of this Innovation Camp will also be submitted to UNESCO, providing Chinese experience of youth participation for global heritage protection.
Young people are the future of cultural heritage, and every small action can stir ripples of inheritance. The stories of Lijiang Ancient Town are made more resounding by this group of young people; the inheritance of world heritage is empowered by this perseverance. Let us look forward to more young people taking over the baton of cultural inheritance, and using creativity and action to stir new ripples of world heritage in the times!
Contributed by Li Qianrao (Intern), Cui Jiaying, Liu Zhen
Photos by Lijiang Integrated Media, Liu Zhen, Mao Shiyu
Videos by Liu Zhen
Typeset by Li Qianrao (Intern)
Edited by Liu Zhen
Reviewed by Shao Yong |
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