Gen Z seeks new ways to engage in shared 'red history'

Vietnamese youth visit the Zunyi Conference memorial museum in Zunyi, Guizhou province, on Sept 18. CHINA DAILY

Young participants at a China-Vietnam youth dialogue in Guiyang, Guizhou province, said on Monday that new approaches are needed to make the two countries' shared revolutionary history resonate with younger generations.

The dialogue was part of the 2026 China-Vietnam Youth International Communication Event, held from Sept 17 to 21 in Guiyang and Zunyi. More than 40 young people and experts from China and Vietnam visited sites including the Zunyi Conference memorial museum and watched an immersive performance depicting the Red Army's Long March from 1934 to 1936.

Organizers also released a report based on more than 4,000 valid questionnaires and interviews with nearly 100 Vietnamese students studying in China.

The report found broad awareness among Vietnamese youth of the countries' geographic ties and shared revolutionary history. However, it also said there is a need to move beyond factual knowledge toward a deeper emotional connection with that history.

It recommended establishing youth exchanges as a long-term mechanism, expanding support for cross-border entrepreneurship and encouraging young people to use social media to tell everyday stories of friendship between China and Vietnam.

The dialogue, held at Guiyang Kangyang University, focused on how immersive technology, language education and social media could help bring the two countries' shared "red culture" closer to Generation Z.

Ma Thi Diem Huong, a Chinese-language lecturer at a university in Hanoi and a content creator focusing on Chinese language and culture, said young people need more opportunities to experience history rather than simply study it.

"In everyday life, we need more immersive experiences and emotional resonance," she said, citing a digital exhibition that uses 8K imagery, motion seats and immersive mist effects.

She was referring to the Guizhou Long March Culture Digital Art Museum, also known as Red Ribbon, a digital experience center in Guiyang that uses immersive technology to tell the story of the Long March.

Huong said technology should not simplify history but instead reshape how it is presented. She proposed replacing one-way lectures with immersive experiences, incorporating personal stories into Chinese-language lessons and encouraging young people to become bilingual creators of cultural content.

Another Vietnamese participant, Mac Thanh Huong, said a visit to a memorial in Guizhou dedicated to women soldiers of the Red Army left a lasting impression.

For young people today, she said, the lesson of that history is not to relive wartime hardship, but to value peace, education and opportunities for personal growth while contributing to society through knowledge and action.

Zeng Qingkai, secretary-general of China Daily, said young people from the two countries should work together to carry forward China-Vietnam friendship, participate in practical cooperation and promote people-to-people ties. He encouraged participants to make the most of the dialogue, learn from one another and apply what they gained to their studies and work.

He said China Daily would continue to report on China-Vietnam cooperation and tell stories of exchanges between young people, helping deepen mutual understanding and friendship between the two countries.