Nanchong, Sichuan: Children Paint a Heroic Picture with "Red" Crayons on Children's Day

To promote red culture and carry on the red bloodline, on the eve of Children's Day on May 28, the Nanchong Martyrs Memorial Facilities Protection Center, in conjunction with Nanchong Dabeijie Primary School, carried out a unique red culture inheritance and education activity themed "Inheriting the Red Gene and Striving to Be New People of the Era". Through immersive practice and creation, a special red connotation was given to the children's festival.

On the morning of that day, 70 teacher and student representatives from Dabeijie Primary School came to the martyrs' cemetery with reverence, starting this extraordinary red journey. The children held towels in their hands and carefully wiped the tombstones. Each wipe was filled with deep affection, as if smoothing out the wrinkles of time and making the engraved names shine brilliantly in the morning sun. Subsequently, the children held yellow chrysanthemums, gently bowed down, neatly placed the flower stands in front of the martyrs' tombstones, and made solemn vows to the sleeping heroes that "the motherland is safe now, and we shall strive to be stronger".

In front of the martyrs' deeds sculptures, the children were deeply attracted. The magnet of history tightly pulled them. They held pens and paper. Sometimes they slightly frowned, pondering the difficulties of those war years; sometimes they quickly took notes. The rustling writing sound was like a cross-time and space dialogue with the martyrs. The determined eyes of the martyrs in the photos and the stories of bloody battles in the texts became vivid and lively under the children's focused gaze, breaking through the dust of years and stirring up a soul-shocking power in the air of the cemetery.

This activity specially set up a literary and artistic creation session. The children in the calligraphy group dipped their brushes in ink and gently turned their wrists. As the pen tips fell, words such as "The spirit of the martyrs will be passed on for generations, and the revolutionary deeds will be engraved for a thousand autumns" leaped onto the paper. Each stroke was filled with infinite admiration for the revolutionary spirit, and the ink was filled with the power of beliefs that transcended time and space. The students in the painting group held colorful brushes and freely splashed their inspiration on the paper. Each work vividly showed the heroic images in the children's hearts, cleverly integrating red culture into childlike innocence and fun.

Finally, under the leadership of the commentator, the children came to the exhibition hall for a visit. Each heavy revolutionary cultural relic, each precious historical photo, each detailed document, and each immortal war history wonder seemed to be telling that magnificent history. The children listened attentively to the commentator's affectionate narration, but their thoughts involuntarily drifted to the revolutionary war years. They deeply felt the indomitable and fearless heroic spirit of the revolutionary martyrs and realized how hard-won today's happy life was.

Before the singing of Children's Day had begun, the children had already understood the weight of history soaked in blood and comprehended the preciousness of a safe motherland while touching the traces of tombstones, copying the martyrs' poems, and sketching the outlines of heroes. The students expressed that they would take over the spiritual torch of their predecessors and deeply engrave the vow of "Inheriting the Red Gene and Striving to Be New People of the Era" in the footprints of their growth.

"This activity specially innovatively carried out a cultural and creative session. In a vivid, interesting, and child-friendly way, it transformed the profound red culture into a form that is easy for children to accept and love, allowing the red culture to vividly enter the children's lives and inspiring the children's deep admiration for heroes in their hearts." said the relevant person in charge of the Nanchong Martyrs Memorial Facilities Protection Center. (By Bai Jimei and Wu Luowenbo)