"I once portrayed Zhou Enlai, and also stepped into the world of Mao Dun. When history is no longer static text on a page, but vivid reenactments in immersive Party lessons, the impact is profound." This is how Chen Yi, the newly appointed Secretary of the General Party Branch of the residential quarter at Lane 294, Zhijiang Middle Road, described his narrating experience.
"Walk down Baoshan Road to understand the original aspirations; join the Storytelling Team to tell moving stories." Zhou Zhen, a social worker at the neighborhood committee of Lane 435, Qingyun Road, uses these words to promote the team she joined six months ago.
"Unearthing history and training newcomers is incredibly fulfilling." As the venue operations manager at Huzhou Guild Hall, Zhang Xiaogu witnessed firsthand how this team grew from scratch into a thriving force...
In Baoshan Road Sub-district, they are united, on a 100-person scale, by the Baoshan Revolution-themed Storytelling Team (the "team" for short). As guardians and sowers of revolutionary history, they pass on this legacy through storytelling and performance. Their efforts help the sub-district set a new benchmark for promoting revolutionary culture in the new era, as a spiritual momentum for community development.
Deepening revolutionary foundation: Century-old heritage inspires a storytelling movement
Baoshan Road Sub-district was home to early organs, labor movements, and cultural hubs of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Boasting a proud revolutionary tradition and rich resources of revolutionary heritage, it features 26 revolutionary sites across just 1.62 square kilometers, earning the moniker Revolutionary Baoshan Road.
Walking along Baoshan Road, every step reveals traces of its revolutionary past. Key sites include↓
Sites Where Marxism Spread—Historical Sites of the Commercial Press Main Factory and Shanghai University (Qingyun Road); Cluster of Early CPC Central Committee Organs—Then Offices of the Central Bureau After the Third and Fourth CPC National Congresses; Cradle of Mass Movements—the Federation of Trade Unions of Shanghai's previous two buildings, one during the early May Thirtieth Movement and the other, Huzhou Guild Hall; and the General Command of Workers' Pickets during the Third Armed Uprising of Shanghai Workers (Site of Oriental Library); Footprints of Revolutionary Leaders—Proletarian revolutionaries Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yun, Qu Qiubai, and Cai Hesen worked or lived here.
"This area is steeped in history, and it is our duty to share and pass down these stories," said Jiang Lili, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Baoshan Road Sub-district and Head of the Baoshan Revolution-themed Storytelling Team.
In recent years, Baoshan has worked to uncover and highlight the historical value of its revolutionary sites. By adopting innovative development methods, it has taken revolutionary culture into daily life, local communities, and people's hearts, establishing Revolutionary Baoshan Road as a revolutionary hallmark of Jing'an District. In this context, the sub-district formed the Baoshan Revolution-themed Storytelling Team in July 2023.
Today, the team has grown well beyond its initial 100 members. It has emerged as a vital force for cultural outreach, drawing participants from government agencies, enterprises, public institutions, communities, schools, and other sectors. The team members span a broad age range, from Generation Alpha primary school students to veteran Party members in their 80s. They include teachers and students from Shanghai University and Shanghai Shibei Vocational High School, alongside employees of China Railway 24th Bureau Group, social workers, and retired residents. Their diverse backgrounds offer multiple perspectives on these revolutionary stories, bringing revolutionary culture to a broader audience.
Innovating publicity: from localized lectures to comprehensive immersive experiences
"I used to find Party history lectures dull until I attended the Mobile Revolutionary Classroom (a Party lecture program). Walking and listening to the lecturer, I realized history is all around us," said a participating resident. Since its inception, the team has been developing creatively, breaking traditional formats to build a comprehensive and multi-dimensional system for spreading revolutionary culture.
Spatially, the team has linked 26 revolutionary sites to launch the Road to Awakening—Revolutionary Baoshan Road: City Bus and City Walk Mobile Revolutionary Classroom, promoting the great founding spirit of the Party, enhancing public understanding of the Revolutionary Baoshan Road, and fostering interactive learning. As part of Shanghai's Party Lecture Series Matrix, the Baoshan lecture program is offered to local party branches and members across Shanghai, making walking a vehicle for learning. Meanwhile, the innovative Mobile Revolutionary Classroom concept turns every site, specific bus, and residential CPC Service Center into a lecture venue, providing full, close-up coverage of revolutionary education and allowing residents to experience revolutionary culture right at their doorsteps.
Regarding team development, it launched the Qingyun Study Society, featuring the Silver-Haired Veteran Party Member Lecturer Group, the Post-90s Youth Lecturer Group, the Young Pioneers Publicity Group, and the Residential Quarter Grassroots Expert Publicity Group—four distinctive groups that create a hierarchically structured publicity framework. It has established a tiered training system—trainee, trial lecturer, novice lecturer, outstanding lecturer, and gold medal lecturer—to improve the lecturers' professional skills through mentorship pairing, etiquette training, and Party history lectures.
In terms of presentation, the team pioneers an immersive approach based on the five-word principle of "walking, performing, reading, writing, speaking." Members stage scenario-based Party lectures, such as Unforgettable 1927 and The Road to Awakening, where amateur performers recreate revolutionary scenes, making revolutionary history tangible and relatable. Feng Junzhe, Secretary of the Second Party Branch under the General Party Branch of Xinhanxing Residential Quarter, began his growth with the immersive Party lecture Unforgettable 1927 at the Huzhou Guild Hall: "Five or six people teamed up to reenact history in a melodrama." Meanwhile, Chen Yi portrayed Zhou Enlai and Mao Dun in The Road to Awakening: "The scene where I portrayed Zhou Enlai was set right at the Oriental Library site I oversee. This performance gave me a deeper understanding of history."
Building collaborative synergy: Revolutionary ties unite diverse forces
The team has actively broadened channels for joint Party building by forging long-term partnerships with multiple institutions, including the Tax Bureau of Jing'an District, China Railway 24th Bureau Group, and Shanghai No. 60 High School, making revolutionary lectures a vital link in regional Party building.
To bolster professional support, the team has tapped into external expertise. It partners with universities on thematic studies, like Why Baoshan Road, and invites doctoral students from Fudan University, Shanghai University, and other institutions in Shanghai, as a Revolutionary Baoshan Road · Doctoral Research Alliance, to explore the historical context of these revolutionary sites. The team also partners with the School of Humanities at Shanghai Normal University to launch the community-school-museum integrated Great Ideological and Political Course project. This initiative provides a platform for moral education in schools and an engaging medium for ideological and political education in enterprises and public institutions, transforming revolutionary education from a one-off event into a regular mechanism.
Recognized for its impressive results and innovative outreach, the Baoshan Revolution-themed Storytelling Team was named an Outstanding Volunteer Service Team by the Social Work Department of the CPC Jing'an District Committee in 2024, setting the benchmark for promoting revolutionary culture in Jing'an District.
Let original aspirations lead the way: Everyone is a storyteller
For the lecturers, this experience is both a spiritual renewal and a journey of self-reinvention.
"I changed after I joined the team," Zhou Zhen said. Learning about the sacrifices of martyrs in their twenties made the challenges she faces at work seem trivial.
Feng Junzhe gained a sense of conviction from the work of lecturing. Moving from "hearing about it" to "knowing it," he felt a deep confidence take root.
Chen Yi's growth was more evident. The team witnessed his journey of drawing closer to the Party organization as he advanced from an activist to a probationary Party member, and finally to a full Party member.
"Our goal is to inspire everyone who lives, works, or studies in Baoshan Road Sub-district to share local revolutionary stories. Everyone can be a storyteller," said Jiang Lili. Moving forward, the team will enhance revolutionary education by diversifying its content and formats. It will also improve project operations and seek more professional support to ensure high-quality growth. These efforts are expected to advance the revolutionary legacy and take root in the community, making Baoshan Road Sub-district a place defined by a proud history, a living heritage, and a promising future.