Holding a picture taken 53 years ago,
Chen Xinge live streamed the tale of her 92-year-old grandfather on the
video-sharing app Douyin, which is known as TikTok overseas. It
was a black-and-white photo taken in the Great Hall of the People,
featuring a group of young, passionate soldiers around China's late
chairman Mao Zedong and premier Zhou Enlai. "It's
one of the proudest moments for my grandfather who joined the army at
the age of 19 and the Communist Party of China (CPC) at 22," said
28-year-old Chen from Huoshan County, Lu'an City, east China's Anhui
Province. Chen is among a group of
young people participating in an online campaign to display old
artifacts of the CPC on Douyin, which has attracted over 137,000
viewers. This year marks the
centenary of the CPC. Founded in 1921, it has grown into the largest
political party in the world with over 91 million members. The
trendsetting Chinese youth, however, have broken new paths in telling
the history of the Party. Chen grew
up hearing stories of her grandfather. "My grandfather spent about two
decades fighting for the country and was invited to meet Chairman Mao in
Beijing in 1968 due to his outstanding performance. That's when the
precious photo was taken," said Chen. The
photo has been hanging in the living room of Chen's home, who said this
is for reminding her of the nation's hard-won peace and prosperity. "I
signed up immediately after learning about the campaign as I want more
youngsters to know this part of history," said Chen, adding that she has
received many positive comments. According
to Sun Wei with the publicity department of the Lu'an municipal Party
committee, those born in the mid-1990s and early-2000s are the most
active participants. Besides short videos, Chinese youth have also presented Party history through dramas and short films. At
Jiaxing University, east China's Zhejiang Province, students and staff
staged a drama based on the history of the first national congress of
the CPC. On the banks of the Yellow
River in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, 33-year-old director Song
Jieying was shooting a short film in Dali County, Weinan City. "It's my second revolution-themed short film telling the stories of retired veterans," said the young man. For Song, revolution-themed films are still attractive in modern times as people can draw strength from their predecessors. "People
living in that era usually had a pure belief and strong will to
overcome difficulties. Their loyalty to the country deserves our
respect," said Song. Song's first short film of the same theme, 10 minutes in length, has won several awards at film festivals. "The young generation ought to pass on stories of the CPC in a more innovative way," said Song. Enditem
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