The 2025 International Youth Forum on Creativity and Heritage Along the Silk Roads (IYF) opened in Changsha on November 20. Under the theme "Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Youth for Heritage Protection and Inheritance," the event brought together youth representatives from Belt and Road countries, as well as distinguished guests from various sectors. Through youth sharing sessions, field visits, and other formats, the forum injected new digital-era vitality into Changsha's intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and built a youthful bridge for cross-cultural exchanges.

A youth sharing session themed "Experience a Dynamic China in Changsha."

In the morning, at a youth sharing session themed "Experience a Dynamic China in Changsha," three young ICH inheritors from Changsha took the stage to share their vibrant cultural practices. 

Huang Cheng, chairperson of the Hunan Huahuo Troupe Co., Ltd., gives a presentation.

Liu Jiahao, a provincial-level inheritor of Tongguan Kiln ceramic firing technique, gives a presentation.

Hunan embroidery inheritor Peng Lulin gives a presentation.

Following the sharing session, participants were divided into three groups to engage in discussions on digital innovation pathways and international promotion strategies for three major ICH projects—Tongguan Kiln ceramic firing technique, Hunan embroidery, and fireworks. They exchanged ideas and put forward suggestions, contributing youthful wisdom to helping ICH break through cultural barriers, align with global youth aesthetics, and establish sustainable business models.

In the afternoon, field visits under the same theme "Experience a Dynamic China in Changsha" were carried out. Youth guests explored the Hunan Museum, marveling at embroidered artifacts from the Mawangdui Han tombs and Changsha Kiln ceramics. They then visited the Fire God Palace Restaurant, where they savored Changsha specialties like sweet rice balls and stinky tofu, enjoyed traditional flower-drum opera performances, and got a firsthand experience of performing classic opera movements. As night fell, they boarded a double-decker sightseeing bus to tour around bustling areas like Wuyi Square and Taiping Street, witnessing organic integration of ICH elements with modern commerce and experiencing Changsha's vibrancy and inclusiveness as a "UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts."

Youth representatives watch a flower-drum opera performance at the Fire God Palace Restaurant, Changsha City. (Photos/Guo Fengxiang)

By adopting an innovative "sharing + practice" model, the forum enabled youths worldwide to feel the unique allure of Changsha's ICH projects like Tongguan Kiln ceramic firing technique, Hunan embroidery, and fireworks. Using creativity as their brush and digital tools as ink, they infused fresh energy into heritage transmission. This not only transformed traditional heritage into a cultural bond bridging hearts across mountains and seas through preservation and innovation but also significantly advanced cultural exchanges and mutual learning among Belt and Road countries.

责编：冯宇轩

一审：冯宇轩

二审：田梦瑶

三审：秦慧英

来源：星辰在线