Faces of China: Preserving cultural heritage in Xizang

The Star

32-year-old Dekyi Chodron is a producer of a youth arts festival in China's Xizang. She hopes to bring the richness of Xizang's traditional culture into everyday lives.   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00For Deki children, August is usually the busiest time of the year.

00:2632-year-old Deki is the producer of the Chakang Youth Arts Festival in China's Tibet.

00:32Deki hopes that this year's arts season will be the starting point for a new five-year plan.

00:56Related cultural activities will be held in public spaces such as Lhasa's tea houses and coffee houses.

01:02We also hope that in this way, we can really make art enter the streets of Lhasa.

01:13Deki, who was born in Agari, China's Tibet, sought to study away from home at the age of 13.

01:20She studied in Wuhan, Beijing, and later in the UK.

01:25In 2018, after earning her master's degree in the UK, she decided to return to her hometown and start her own business.

01:55There are relatively few cultural and artistic activities in China.

02:01If there is such a comprehensive art festival, it can be given to young people in Lhasa and Tibet,

02:10especially tourists who want to break the stereotype of being a tourist.

02:14Sweet tea houses are an essential part of daily life in Tibet.

02:18Deki hopes to bring the richness of Tibet's traditional culture into everyday life.

02:23And these tea houses have become instrumental in her endeavor.

02:28In the 70s and 80s, there were a group of contemporary artists in Lhasa.

02:33They moved their works to the tea house for exhibitions.

02:37They didn't need to go to museums to hold large-scale exhibitions.

02:41You can see these at the tea houses in front of your house.

02:44We want to pay tribute to this spirit and hope that this spirit can continue.

02:51In 2023, Deki brought the art festival to the ancient courtyards of Lhasa's old town.

02:57The 1.3-square-kilometer old town is dotted with over a hundred historical buildings.

03:03She hopes to reinvigorate these spaces with art and enrich the city's cultural vibe.

03:09Ancient buildings have their own characteristics.

03:14These characteristics can't be brought to a well-built teahouse.

03:17Every time we choose a place, we feel that this place has a very traditional feel.

03:21It's not a clean and modern place.

03:25It's a place where you can watch a performance or observe a traditional culture.

03:31In 2023, the art festival hosted 20 events, reaching an audience of hundreds of thousands.

03:38Traditional culture is increasingly capturing the interests of young people.

03:44If these traditional cultures can be done in a more modern and younger way,

03:51young people will like it.

03:54We need to be a bridge in the middle.

03:58First, we need to make the audience better understand what the artist wants to express.

04:03Secondly, we need artists to understand what the current cultural market is like.

04:11I think this is the most meaningful part of our work.

04:22I've always paid attention to the rich heritage left by our ancestors.

04:27I feel that we should look at the present.

04:30When I was a child, I lived in a small courtyard like this.

04:36I have a lot of childhood memories here.

04:40I think it's good to show our traditional culture and the way we young people like it.

04:47I think it's good to pass it on.

04:51With the efforts of young people like Deki, traditional culture is kept alive

04:55and passed on in new and innovative ways.

04:58Over the years, China has invested heavily in preserving cultural heritage in Sudan.

05:05Official data show 2.17 billion yuan was spent on this sector from 2016 to 2020.

05:13Regarding the future, Deki is very confident.

05:17There are still many good initiatives.

05:19For example, the independent and specialized Flying Fish Museum.

05:23All the counties are doing this.

05:25From flying fish excavation to conservation.

05:27Every year, we report on this.

05:28We have been inheriting this.

05:30But if there is no government to invest this money,

05:33let us see, let us research,

05:35I don't think there will be such a touching thing.

05:37We are still young.

05:39We still need to dig more.

05:41We still need to learn more.

05:43We are confident in our own culture.

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