Minecraft challenge breathes new life into rich cultural past

Relay of creativity

Qiu's project is not a stand-alone endeavor. It is the 12th leg of a spectacular Minecraft "relay" building challenge.

What began as a casual game among a small group of gamers has evolved into a viral cultural phenomenon, amassing over 300 million views and 17 million likes on Douyin alone.

This challenge is regarded as not merely a gaming activity anymore; it is also a manifestation of the younger generation's digital connection with history and an expression of cultural identity.

It showcases a generation leveraging the digital language it knows best — gaming — to connect with, interpret, and passionately safeguard its cultural heritage.

The relay was sparked in August by an influencer called "Libro, who doesn't love his liver". He invited others to sequentially build on a shared mountain map in Minecraft.

Libro began modestly, claiming he would "simply plant a blooming tree on this dirt mound". However, the result was a gigantic, stunning pink-blossomed tree.

This set the tone for what netizens would later call "intense competition". Each subsequent creator, feeling the pressure from the previous impressive work, pushed their creativity further.

The relay quickly transcended mere gaming skills, morphing into a showcase of architectural ambition deeply rooted in Chinese aesthetics.

When the fourth relay baton passed to "Jayden, who doesn't know Chinese style" (real name He Jinjun, 23), a computer science student with a passion for classical Chinese gardens, the pressure was intense.

"Seeing the incredible works of the previous creators, the psychological pressure was really big," He recalled.

He promised his viewers only "a couple of small houses", while the reveal was a breathtaking miniature of the Forbidden City, complete with the three main halls and the Nine-Dragon Wall, all built to accurate proportions.

His week-long, high-intensity labor of love demonstrated how the game's freedom could make "players feel the elegance and grandeur of Chinese-style architecture firsthand".

To ensure authenticity, he delved into extensive historical materials, rigorously basing his creation on documented measurements. His work not only displays the rich variations in painted decorations but also clearly reveals the detailed texture and low-relief effects achieved with finer blocks.

As the relay progressed, the challenge's difficulty and creativity escalated. The scale and intricacy of the works consistently surpassed viewers' expectations.

According to Douyin sources, videos in the relay series featuring Chinese cultural architecture consistently achieved stronger viewer engagement.

Prior to the Yuanmingyuan recreation, a key turning point was the Dunhuang-themed landscape created by a 21-year-old influencer called "An Sir" (real name Xia Caiquan), which allowed a broader audience to appreciate the beauty of Chinese-style architecture within the game.

After that, content was sequentially released on Douyin, rapidly attracting attention. Most of the relay videos have garnered over a million likes, with the Dunhuang-themed video amassing an impressive 2.8 million likes.