Cultural Conservation Meets Douyin

By Kate Kologrivaya

We arrived very late to the city shimmering with neon lights. The road was narrow， long and winding， but the driver knew it like the back of his hand. We entered huge gates decorated with flags and the guesthouse owner decked out in traditional attire welcomed us by serving up a late night dinner. Tasty.

The place we arrived at was Danba， or Rongzhag， a county of the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. Zhonglu is one of the areas oldest and best preserved villages. In Tibetan， the name means “the promised land.”

In the past decade， the regions residents have switched from growing corn， peppers and raising pigs to the tourism industry. The government has been actively supporting those endeavors as youngsters constantly leave the place in pursuit of more promising urban opportunities.

Dawa， our local guide， explained，“They dont feel connected to the local culture. No one is interested in traditional clothes and customs anymore； theyre deemed outdated and wont bring teenagers any economic benefits.”

Dawa works at the Yunhe Center. This social enterprise launched in 2015 in support of nature-based learning and community development. The team currently consists of several people focusing on sustainable tourism and elderly care projects.

We arrived at Yunhe in the early morning， when the centers director said they would be having some visitors over.“Some” turned out to be a group of 46 from Xiaojin Village， locally famous for its apples and valley views. All were decked out in traditional clothing， different from that of the people in Zhonglu. As soon as the official part of the centers introduction was done with， women whipped out their phones and… started filming.

“Im very popular on Douyin [Chinas TikTok]，” said one lady.

“What do you do on there？” we asked.

“I show my local culture and dancing. People really like it； I get thousands of views every time I publish something. Find me on Douyin，” the lady replied.

The next day we were interviewing a local woman who introduced traditional songs to us for a documentary about the preservation of local culture.

“The old singing is dying because the dancing is much more popular among the youth.”

“Weve danced before， with your neighbor，” said a cameraman.

“Oh， I know！ I saw her posting about it！”