You Tingting, 43, an inheritor of the Hezhe ethnic culture, shares this passion and commitment to preserving her people's heritage. She was surrounded by the Hezhe language and Yimakan from a young age. She could only speak a few words of the language when she was little, but now she can perform long segments of Yimakan.
She is also a pioneer in efforts to preserve and spread the Hezhe language. She created a Hezhe-language group chat and, since 2015, has been teaching people Hezhe words in that group. For her, this initiative is not just about teaching; it's also about learning together.
"Through this platform, I hope to inspire more young people to learn. I'm a member of the Hezhe ethnic group and I love my culture deeply. Although our population is small and fewer people spoke the Hezhe language in the past, the government has recently placed a strong emphasis on the preservation and development of ethnic groups' cultures," says You Tingting.