When people think of China, what do they see?
Red lanterns. Dragons. The Great Wall. Or perhaps: headlines about politics and economic power.
But rarely do they see the soft details of modern Chinese life — a girl in a linen qipao walking through a quiet tea house, a boy wearing cyber-inspired makeup in a neon-lit alley, or a Gen Z designer remixing traditional patterns with Y2K fashion. These are not exceptions. These are parts of the China I live in — diverse, emotional, creative, alive.
This is why I started this project.
Why AI?
AI is more than just a tool — it’s becoming a new visual language.
It allows individuals like me — with no coding background or massive production budget — to generate images that speak. Not just beautiful images, but culturally meaningful ones.
Inspired by projects like Kahani (2024) from Microsoft Research, I began to ask:
Can AI generate visuals that carry emotional depth and cultural specificity?
With the right prompts, guidance, and intent — yes.
AI becomes a cultural translator, helping express the subtleties of Chinese aesthetics in ways that are globally legible and emotionally resonant.
Why Avatars?
Culture is easier to connect with when it’s human.
Instead of just showing objects or symbols, I want to create aesthetic avatars — personas that carry not just looks, but stories, moods, and lives.
Avatars allow people to feel a sense of recognition. As Schackman (2010) writes:
Avatars offer both continuity with heritage and reinvention of identity in modern contexts.
In a world of stereotypes, avatars can be vessels of nuance.
They help us shift from “China as a symbol” to “Chinese people as lived experience.”
Why Aesthetics?
Because aesthetics is not decoration — it’s emotion.
Chinese aesthetics, in particular, is not just about ancient symbols.
It’s about rhythm, restraint, balance, softness, boldness — it’s a way of being.
I’m not here to explain China through politics or economics.
I’m here to offer a feeling — of how it feels to live as a young person in modern China.
Tea, graffiti, embroidered collars, AI-generated temples, neon poetry, streetwear with mountain silhouettes — all of these are languages of beauty.
They are ways to say:
We are not what you think. We are more. We are here. And we feel.
Final Thought
I use AI because it helps me express culture beyond language.
I use avatars because they make people care.
I use Chinese aesthetics because that’s the soul I want the world to feel.
Let’s move from symbols to stories,
from representation to resonance.
Let’s reimagine what modern China looks — and feels — like.
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