On July 19, the 8th cross-strait Dayu cultural exchange event, themed Tracing Roots to Dayu's Hometown and Inheriting Chinese Civilization, opened at Yuwang Square in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, Mianyang. Over 300 participants from both sides of the Taiwan Strait—including Dayu culture researchers, descendants' representatives, local residents, teachers and students, and delegates from sites associated with Dayu—gathered in Dayu's ancestral home to reaffirm their shared ethnic bonds and pass on Chinese civilization.

Event site

At approximately 9 am, nine solemn gun salutes echoed, symbolizing Dayu's establishment of the Nine Provinces; this was followed by 34 drumbeats representing the reverence for Dayu from China's 34 provincial-level administrative regions and Chinese communities worldwide; and 14 chimes expressed gratitude from the 1.4 billion Chinese people. All attendees, draped in traditional Qiang red sashes, bowed three times before the statue of Dayu in a gesture of sincere ancestral homage.

In recent years, this event has become an important platform for compatriots across the Taiwan Strait to trace their roots, strengthen hometown ties, and jointly pursue development. During the concurrent Cross-Strait Symposium on the Inheritance and Innovation of Dayu Culture, scholars engaged in in-depth discussions on topics including the etymology of the character 'Yu', the contemporary relevance of Dayu's spirit, the concept of 'Virtue Lies in Benevolent Governance', and the role of Dayu culture in fostering national unity, thereby reinforcing consensus on their shared origins.

Event site

The event will run through July 24, featuring activities such as cross-strait youth study tours on Dayu culture and visits by Dayu descendants to his ancestral homeland. Young participants will experience intangible cultural heritage crafts like Qiang embroidery and straw weaving, and visit the Dayu Culture Exhibition Hall and Shiyi Village to trace the continuity of Yu-Qiang cultural heritage through historical artifacts and documents.

In recent years, Beichuan has consistently promoted the "Dayu Culture" brand and deepened cross-strait cultural exchanges. It has jointly issued the "Beichuan Declaration" with cities such as Shaoxing, Bengbu, and Yucheng, established archival protection for historic sites like Shiniu and Yuwang Temple, built a "Qiang Ethnic Memory Database" to advance the digital preservation of Dayu culture, and launched the "Young Yu" intellectual property (IP), producing the animated series "The Legend of Young Yu" and developing over 100 cultural and creative products. Today, Dayu's ancestral home in Beichuan receives more than 500,000 study and heritage visitors annually, continuously strengthening the sense of community among the Chinese nation.

【本文部分内容由AI辅助生成，特此声明。The author(s) generated part of the content in this work with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), which is hereby declared.】