Preserving Cultural Heritage in Beijing Hutongs with Chinese Youth

With modernization, urban characteristics featured in different countries and regions have become increasingly homogenize; While the traditional cultural customs and symbols that represent the unique character of a city are disappearing. My proposed service project centered on exploring the impact of digital storytelling devices in documenting the cultural migration that has been taking place in the historical districts of Beijing. I believe projects like this could serve as an experiential pathway to understanding what is lost and what is gained through the modernization of our contemporary culture, where technology and economic development are shaping ways in which we interact – socially, psychologically, and culturally – as humans, and ultimately, the future of our cities.

In the future, I hope this project could become a digital archive that helps document and revitalize the ethnographic objects, maps, census data, oral history, and stories of the disappearing communities of historic Beijing. It is accessible online or via mobile devices to previous residents of historic Beijing scattered outside of their alleyway-home. It will help demonstrate how digital technology can help marginalized culture stay present and relevant; it could also show how the digitization of cultural heritage enables communities to be co-producers of knowledge in documenting history.