"Civilizations become richer through exchange, and cultures are renewed when they cross boundaries," said Wu Qiongfang, deputy director of the Cultural and Creative Research Center of Dunhuang Academy.
Speaking at the 2026 World Youth Development Forum in Wuhan, Hubei province, Wu was not describing cultural heritage as something distant or static. She was describing how a site more than 1,000 years old can enter the lives of young people through technology, design and participation.
The forum, themed "Youth Drive Development for a Better World", opened on June 15, bringing together more than 500 youth representatives, experts and officials from UN agencies, international organizations and more than 120 countries and regions.
At a thematic forum on creative economy and trendy culture on June 16, Wu introduced her team's long-running efforts to bring the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, closer to contemporary audiences.
Behind her, a screen displayed an extended reality (XR) immersive project developed by the team. Wearing a headset, visitors can view murals and painted sculptures up close and enter a recreated Lantern Festival night from the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
The team has also worked with Chinese tech company Tencent on a mini-program that allows users to design Dunhuang-inspired silk scarves. According to Wu, more than 1 million user-generated designs were submitted on the first day of its launch.
"Dunhuang culture should not remain confined to academic texts; it should be brought closer to young people through creative products and immersive experiences," she said.
Wu's work reflects a broader shift: young creators are increasingly moving from cultural observers to communicators, participants and collaborators.
For Jake Pinnick from the United States, that process began with kung fu films.
Fascinated as a child by Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, Pinnick traveled alone to Wudang Mountain, a renowned Taoist sanctuary in Hubei, in 2010. He was 20, had never been abroad and did not speak Chinese. He carried a small dictionary and a handwritten note that read: "I want to go to Wudang Mountain."
Smartphones and translation apps were far less common then, and Pinnick relied on the help of strangers to reach the mountain. Sixteen years later, he has become an inheritor of the Wudang Sanfeng school and received China's Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card in 2025.
"Practicing martial arts has not only improved my health but also helped me find myself and become more confident," he said.
Today, Pinnick shares Wudang martial arts and Taoist culture with a large online audience. He has also published an English-language beginner's guide to the dongxiao, a traditional Chinese vertical flute, and hopes to establish a cultural exchange center in China.
"Many young people overseas tell me they first discovered Wudang and tai chi through my videos," he said. "That makes me very happy."
For French porcelain artist Yann Colleu, heritage became most vivid not in a museum, but in a workshop.
Colleu, now a PhD candidate at Jingdezhen Ceramic University in Jiangxi province, first arrived in Jingdezhen in 2017. Two years ago, he co-founded Borsomin, a porcelain design studio in the city aimed at promoting cultural exchange through design and art.
To Colleu, Jingdezhen is a place where "heritage is alive", with traditional craftsmanship integrating with new technology and innovation.
What impressed him most, however, was how naturally collaboration unfolded there. After meeting local artisans, he was often invited to their studios the next day to create work together. Some even shared their suppliers' contacts with him.
"Even though we all compete in the same market, there is more inspiration than competition. We learn from each other and grow together," Colleu said.
His recent collection blends French Renaissance aesthetics with Chinese porcelain art, applying color transitions and textures inspired by European painting techniques to Chinese tea ware.
"For international young creators, Jingdezhen offers a unique opportunity to access world-class craftsmanship while working in a dynamic environment that encourages experimentation, innovation and global collaboration," he said.
While Dunhuang, Wudang and Jingdezhen show how traditional culture can be renewed, Wuhan-based graffiti artist Jiang Heng is exploring how contemporary Chinese culture can travel outward.
Jiang has worked in public art for 17 years and serves as general manager of Wuhan 27 Kilometers Culture Communication.
With support from local authorities, his original character EMO — with tired eyes, anxious eyebrows and a constant smile — has appeared across Wuhan, from alleyways and bus stops to the area around the Yellow Crane Tower.
"EMO is inspired by Wuhan's cherry blossoms, representing the tired yet hopeful spirit of young people in today's urban life," he said.
Jiang plans to bring EMO to Burning Man in Nevada, the United States, from Aug 30 to Sept 7, where he will create a large-scale installation and invite participants from different countries to add graffiti in multiple languages and forms of expression.
For Jiang, the project is less about presenting a Chinese original character overseas than creating a space where people can respond to it in their own ways.
"I hope EMO can open cross-cultural dialogue and help more people understand the uniqueness of Eastern culture," he said.
