Revolutionary exhibition and youth identity: a visitor study of the Shanghai Sihang warehouse battle memorial

Abstract

ABSTRACT Revolutionary exhibitions are unique cultural resources in China, part of a ‘red’ narrative that centers the Communist Party in the country’s liberation and development. They contribute substantially to the creation of a shared national identity, yet current revolutionary exhibitions in China show too much homogenization and too little narrative innovation. Organized and curated primarily on a mechanical manner, they often lack the persuasive force needed to promote a red narrative in the twenty-first century. Through in-depth interviews with visitors at the Shanghai Sihang Warehouse Battle Memorial, this article explores how revolutionary exhibitions can tell red stories in a way that engages the public, especially younger generations. This study addresses a critical question: How can exhibitions establish and maintain connections between a country’s revolutionary history, which is based on self-sacrifice, and a globalized market economy, which is driven by self-interest?