Chinese Woman Inspires Generations with Revolutionary Stories

Yang Yu, director of the publicity and education department of the Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), in Shanghai, is a delegate to the 20th CPC National Congress. "As a Chinese Communist who tells stories about CPC's national congress, at the site where the CPC was founded, and where the great founding spirit of the CPC was nurtured, being a delegate to the 20th CPC National Congress is a recognition of my work," says Yang.

Becoming a Docent

On July 23, 1921, the first CPC National Congress was convened, secretly, in a two-story, brick-and-wood building, at what is now 76 Xingye Road, in Shanghai. The building was designated a memorial site in September 1952. After a major renovation and expansion between 2019 and 2021, the memorial now houses the site of the first CPC National Congress, an oath-taking hall, and a newly built exhibition area.

In 2000, after she graduated from university, Yang applied to become a docent at the memorial site. Even though her major was international trade and advertising, Yang hoped to challenge herself. "It is a noble job … Also, I can interact with visitors from all walks of life," says Yang.

After Yang was hired, she began working hard to improve her narration skills. From voice and rhythm to body posture, she tried to use and optimize her movements and expressions. She gradually realized that memorizing long paragraphs of commentary, standing tall and straight, and pronouncing words correctly were only some of her duties.

"I carefully studied the stories behind the photos and antiques. My aspiration and mission is to promote revolutionary culture, and to pass on the strength of revolutionary belief to visitors," says Yang. "I should not merely tell stories. I should let the memorial become a 'classroom' for Party-history publicity and education, and let the antiques and historical materials become 'teaching materials' of Party history. The heroes and role models are our 'teachers.' In this way, visitors will have a better understanding of Party history."

Yang clearly remembers one event that occurred after she took the job. One day, in June 2000, many visitors flocked to the memorial site, to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of the CPC on July 1.

"Among the visitors was a role model policeman. During the visit, I helped push his wheelchair. He told me that he would come here every year, as long as he could. He hoped to draw nourishment and strength from the deeds of the revolutionary martyrs, to better strive for his ideal," Yang recalls.

"I was touched by his words. I was even more touched when I saw that he revisited the memorial, accompanied by his family members, the next year. Because of his faith and persistence, I deeply feel my job is so important," continues Yang.

In 2002, Yang was promoted to deputy director of the memorial's publicity and education department. Two years later, she became a Party member. "I was admitted to the Party on July 23, 2004. I was so excited, as July 23 was the anniversary date of the convening of the first CPC National Congress," says Yang.

Impetus for Work

October 31, 2017, was an unforgettable day for Yang. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, visited the memorial site, with members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, on that day. Yang guided them, and explained the exhibits to them.

After that day, the number of visitors to the memorial experienced "blowout" growth, rising to 835,000 visitors in 2017. In the two years that followed, the memorial received more than 1.4 million tourists, consecutively. "Many people followed General Secretary Xi's footsteps to the memorial site, to visit the 'spiritual home' of Chinese Communists," Yang says.

In August 2019, construction began on the memorial's new exhibition hall. The new facility would ensure better services were provided to visitors, and help visitors have a better understanding of the history of CPC's founding. The hall officially opened in 2021. Within half a year, the memorial had received nearly 1.45 million visitors. Almost 130,000 visitors wrote messages after they visited the memorial.

"The messages reflect their love for the Party, which is an important impetus for our work," says Yang.

For Younger Generations

The average age of the more than 10 members in the publicity and education department is less than 30. Yang leads these young members in innovating publicity and education methods. For example, when talking about the 13 representatives who participated in the first CPC National Congress, the young docents call them "the best team in history." Also, they refer to the history of the founding of the CPC as "the growth of the young CPC."

Yang has also guided her team in focusing on digital education. During the memorial's temporary closing in 2020, due to COVID-19, Yang and her team provided access to virtual exhibitions on a digital platform. The docents also worked as "live streamers," so visitors could "tour" the memorial through live streaming.

In 2021, Yang launched a short-video program to publicize Party-history stories. She planned to shoot 100 episodes, each one minute long.

In recent years, Yang has led her team in improving the quality of afterschool education, especially for teenagers. In 2019, the team launched a public-benefit project — organizing teenagers to tell stories about the founding of the CPC. The project won first prize in the National Culture and Tourism Volunteer Service Project Online Competition, organized by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in 2020. It also won the gold medal during the fifth Chinese Youth Volunteer Service Project Competition, organized by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, the same year.

In 2021, Yang took the lead in launching a program — displaying revolutionary cultural relics and sharing the stories behind the relics — in 100 schools in Shanghai.

In 2022, Yang led her team in organizing interactive activities, especially aimed at teenagers, in the memorial, to celebrate the convening of the 20th CPC National Congress. During the activities, visitors were placed in teams and then worked together to discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks. It was an innovative way to promote Party-history learning and education. Nearly 15,000 visitors participated. In May 2023, the team upgraded the activities, which have attracted more than 50,000 participants.

"The youth are the future of our country. We should study how to tell the revolutionary stories in a better way, so young people can keep the stories in mind," Yang says.

Statistics provided by Yang indicate the proportion of young visitors has increased, year by year, during the past five years. "It fully proves that revolutionary culture has attracted legions of young 'fans.' Revolutionary stories are welcomed among the younger generations," Yang says.

"More and more young people have been admitted to the Party. The great founding spirit of the Party has nourished, and will nourish, generation after generation of Chinese people. The Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will surely be realized," says Yang.

In the future, Yang will lead her team in focusing on guiding young people to have firm ideals and faith, and to enhance their sense of responsibility and mission for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

"Shanghai has abundant revolutionary resources. There are more than 600 revolutionary sites in the city. We should devote ourselves to protecting revolutionary sites and relics, and to disseminating revolutionary culture," Yang says.

Photos Supplied by Memorial of the First National Congress of the CPC and Interviewee

(Women of China English Monthly July 2023 issue)