Preserving the Hezhe voices

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.