Local Stories, Global Resonance: How China’s Local Stories Bridge the World

1. Introduction

The rapid development of AI technologies like generative AI and AI agents is reshaping the landscape of international communication. Empowered by these technologies, trans-cultural communication has become a powerful publicity venue for Chinese local stories to exercise influence. The power of local and regional stories to transcend boundaries and foster international understanding has never been more pronounced. These narratives, rooted in rich Chinese cultural heritage and experiences, are finding their way onto the world stage, offering unique perspectives and enriching the global connectivity landscape. However, challenges such as fragmentation in communication channels and content, the coexistence of multiple versions, the difficulty in adapting local cultural symbols and values to global audiences, and interference from biased meta-narratives and meta-discourses, rooted in stereotypes stemming from ethnocentric mindsets, have left China’s local and regional international communication grappling with solutions to reducing communication noise and eliminating the negative impact of the “cultural discount” effect. Therefore, to innovate inter-cultural story-telling, this article argues that the following issues need to be addressed: how to break the “reverse information cocoons” constructed by story teller themselves; how to mitigate “cultural discount” and reduce communication noise; how to transform localized efforts into viral trends that resonate worldwide?

Against this backdrop, this article explores how Chinese local stories can resonate on world stage from four main aspects: Breaking information cocoons through dynamic thinking and real-time adjustment; Achieving the decoding and reconstruction of cultural symbols via multimodal narrative, plural participation, transmedia storytelling, and cross-sector IP co-branding; Deeply integrating AI technologies to enhance the culture value resonance of China’s local stories.

2. Breaking the Reverse Information Cocoon

In recent years, China’s international communication and publicity of local stories have made significant progress in content production, narrative innovation and the continuous expansion of communication channels. Many excellent works and projects have won instant popularity. However, AI empowerment and cultural empowerment are double-edged swords. The screening logic of algorithm recommendation mechanisms mainly involves capturing users’ daily browsing data, analyzing their habits and preferences, and then feeding them with almost personally tailored information, be it entertaining, academic or shopping. That is, user profiles and groupings are created based on factors like browsing duration and interaction frequency, as well as content with high relevance. In such a relatively closed discourse community, the constant reinforcement of homogeneous content will conversely form an information cocoon, completely contradicting the original intention of communicators. So, information cocoons form because of a multi-layered feedback loop between people and AI-driven recommendation algorithms. In other words, communicators themselves have built echo chambers, where like-minded individuals gather creating digital spaces that reinforce shared perspectives (Cinelli, Brugnoli, et al., 2020; Gonz´alez-Bail´ on & Lelkes, 2023). This will restrict audiences from forming rich, unbiased and multi-dimensional perceptions. For example, among certain audience groups, one-sided perceptions such as, "The history of Shanxi province was written by Jin merchants" and "Porcelain and Jingdezhen, become the cultural representative of Jiangxi" have taken shape.

To break free from this reverse information cocoon, it is necessary to conduct real-time calibration of communication content, channels, and symbols. Real-time dynamic calibration means paying attention to the effects generated by stories and the images constructed by narration closely, rather than simply pursuing metrics such as view counts and repost volumes. Calibration involves expanding information sources, communication community, and constantly countering algorithmic cocoons to broaden the cognitive boundaries of audiences, thereby shaping a more abundant, authentic, and multi-dimensional local image.

2.1. Expanding Communication Channels, Content, and Building Discourse Communities

In terms of local stories bridging the world, static thinking refers to always taking Generation Z (post-95s and post-00s) as the main audience group and regarding social media they prefer, such as X, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok (the international version of Douyin), as the main communication platforms. Whereas, to expand communication channels and audience groups with dynamic thinking means conduct research on social media use in target communities, and gradually expand to localized platforms to truly integrate into local discourse communities, which linguist John Swales defined as “groups that have goals and purposes, and use communication to achieve their goals. It has mechanisms of intercommunications among its members”(1990, p470, 471) Take Southeast Asia as an example: in Indonesia, WhatsApp and Telegram are also popular, and Kaskus, the largest local online community in Indonesia, is an important venue for local cultural expression; Line is more widely used in Thailand, and Pantip is a popular local online community among Thai users; Vietnam’s Zalo, equivalent to China’s WeChat, has a huge user base, and local forums like VOZ (VozForum) and the emerging social network platform Lotus supported by the Vietnamese government also have a large number of users. (SalesSmartly, 2025)

More importantly, in addition to catering to Generation Z’s preference for digital featured communication forms such as short videos, live streaming and micro-dramas, attention should be paid to Millennials (born between 1980 and 1995). They are often the backbone of society in most countries around the world and more vocal and wield greater political and cultural influence. For instance, “Millennials in India account for 34% of the total population and are actively shaping various key sectors of Indian society.” (Akshay, 2024) Millennials prefer text-oriented media. For example, “threads’ text-based nature has resonated with Vietnam’s post-80s generation,” and it offers a nostalgic yet refreshing alternative to the visually-dominated social media environment. (Vu, 2025) Having grown up amid the rise of blogs and online forums, Millennials find comfort in this familiar format, and text-oriented platforms enable more nuanced and in-depth conversations. Moreover, apart from using social media, they tend to use “slow media” to read in-depth reports and discuss serious social topics more thoroughly. Therefore, the discourse reconstruction of China’s local stories should also tilt toward more text-oriented media and mainstream “slow media”.

In addition, the audience group of Generation Alpha (post-2010s) cannot be ignored. “With a global population of nearly 2 billion and over 2.5 million new births every week, they are destined to surpass all previous generations in size and influence.” “They are fond of posting on social media about almost everything in life” and will become the main force of user-generated content (UGC) media platforms in the future. (Naveen, 2025). Chinese local stories should start to penetrate UGC-dominated platforms in other cultures. Gaming and live streaming of their favorite celebrities are among the main reasons many members of Generation Alpha use social media platforms. “Gen Alpha gamers don’t just play video games, they also partake in other forms of engagement. Specifically, 43% of Gen Alpha engages with gaming via playing, viewing, and multiple other forms, including joining gaming communities, following streamers, and creating content.” (AFPRelaxnews, Forbes India, 2023) Thus, constructing local story discourse communities for Generation Alpha through games like Black Myth: Wukong should serve as a stepping stone.

2.2. Countering the algorithmic echo chamber and expanding the cognitive boundaries of the audience

By integrating social platforms with traditional mainstream media, local stories will gain more leverages, because this kind of integration and optimization can avoid algorithmic manipulation. While using popular social media platforms, such as X, Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp and Line, more professional platforms like LinkedIn cannot be neglected. Additionally, mainstream traditional media with enduring strong influence, such as The Economist, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, should also be key channels for the transmission of Chinese local stories.

Establish cross-circle dialogues to break through circles and attract audiences. For instance, the construction of local narratives via AI tools to design interactive scenarios, organize reading clubs, forums, etc. on major social media platforms, invite key opinion leaders (KOLs) from different fields to conduct cross-circle interpretations as well as constructive discussions and dialogues with audiences from different professions, age groups, and cultural backgrounds can not only challenge cognitive boundaries of viewers from other cultures but also break stereotypes formed out of the lack of effective communication.

Besides, the story construction tool kits to provide underlying frameworks and cognitive logics that go beyond current hot topics also include diversifying content production to break the narrative system inertia that solely relies on cultural empowerment; creating richer communication themes, especially focusing on the thematic construction of stories about China’s modernization; in-depth and cross-border new interpretations of classic works through user-generated content (UGC) to reduce homogeneity and dissolve algorithmic control.

3. Redefining Story-Telling

As audiences increasingly consume information and gain perceptions through social media, the format and approach to storytelling have had to evolve. Social media like YouTube and TikTok’s rise as dominant platforms requires story tellers to generate short, visually engaging videos that can convey key information in seconds. Story-telling has evolved into an interactive, immediate, multi-modal and transmedia experience. According to a comment from The Fix Media, Lazar Čovs, an investigative and data journalist working for BBC World Wide News, “younger generations don’t want to click through to a website anymore.” (Pacarizi, 2024)

3.1. Multimodal, plural participant narrative and public diplomacy

Disseminating representative local civilization symbols and showcasing highly recognizable spiritual emblems and cultural essences constitute the core of constructing local stories in China. The application of multimodal and plural participants narration allows for the decoding and reconstruction of unique local cultural symbols. The construction of diverse and multi-perspective stories can demonstrate the interaction between local history, tradition, and contemporary society, so as to eliminate the interference of stereotypes, and present a more comprehensive panorama.

From the perspective of soft power and public diplomacy, scholars both at home and abroad agree that public diplomacy has entered a new stage. American scholar Nicholas J. Cull, in his book Public Diplomacy: Lessons from the Past, mentions that in this new stage of public diplomacy, non-state actors have begun to participate and play an important role. “The new public diplomacy emphasizes people-to-people contact for mutual enlightenment with the international actor playing the role of facilitator. (2009, p13) Joseph Nye argued that public diplomacy is an important means to enhance a country’s soft power, and public diplomacy with smart power attributes emphasizes the participation of civil society in generating soft power. “Public diplomacy is an important tool in the arsenal of smart power, but smart public diplomacy requires an understanding of the role of civil society in generating soft power.” (2008, p108) Professor Wang Lili holds that “new public diplomacy has emerged, where the participants of emerging public diplomacy are no longer limited to the government but include interest groups, think tanks, media, and ordinary citizens, among others.” (2018, p6)

From the theoretical perspective of cross-cultural communication, Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory provides a framework for understanding how culture influences values and behaviors, which is often applied in fields such as trans-cultural communication studies. Among its dimensions, the individualism vs. collectivism dimension emphasizes the importance of interaction between official narratives, collective narratives, and individual narratives in cross-cultural communication. (2011)

Modality is generally defined as culturally recognized means of communication, including text, gestures, postures, gaze, font choices and colors, images, videos, etc., as well as their interactions. Multimodality focuses on the various modes people use to communicate with each other and express themselves. It plays an important part in representing the connotations of cultural symbols and the interactive meaning of guiding audiences to obtain meanings in their own cultural worlds, thereby generating empathy. (Kress, 2010, p1-8, p18-29)

Thus, the participation of civil society in constructing local stories can complement official, formal narratives, demonstrating cultural diversity and inclusiveness. The participation of inter-cultural intermediary “others” and key opinion leaders in story-telling can break through cognitive barriers, realize the trans-cultural decoding and reconstruction of cultural symbols, as well as stimulate emotional resonance through the participants’ real experiences and feelings.

For example, Shanxi is renowned as the “treasure trove of ancient Chinese architecture,” and among its most important buildings, Foguang Temple on Wutai Mountain was praised by the famous architect Liang Sicheng as “China’s No. 1 national architectural treasure.” If a video is produced using multimodal and plural participants narration, it can holographically display The Map of Wutai Mountain in Cave 61 of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, present an animated display of the overall structure of Foguang Temple, showcase multiple angles of the statue of the donor Ning Gongyu, as well as display the photo of Lin Huiyin with Ning’s statue—especially their silent communication across time and space accompanied by text explanations and voice-over interpretations. Simultaneously, multi-perspective story-telling and interpretations are adopted. Through expert interviews, it can reveal how Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin, amid the chaos of war, driven by their passion, disproved the assertion by Japanese scholars that “there are no existing wooden structures from the Tang Dynasty or earlier on Chinese soil; To visit Tang Dynasty wooden architecture, one has to go to Kyoto and Nara in Japan.” From the perspective of ordinary tourists and inter-cultural intermediary "others," expressing the understanding and insights that the existence of this temple is the homage to history itself and a testament to the continuity of human civilization. Multimodal and multiple participants story-telling creates a tension and discursive space that can reproduce 1,200 years of sealed history, showcasing the profound and time-honored Shanxi civilization, decoding and reconstructing the significance of mutual learning between human history and civilizations beyond the hustle and bustle of the present life.

3.2. Transmedia Story-telling and Cross-sector IP Co-branding

Through its emphasis on multimedia, social media has ushered in transmedia story-telling, where stories are no longer confined to a single medium but instead unfold across various digital formats. Martha Kinder put forward the concept of trans-media narration in 1993, and Henry Jenkins elaborated on its influence and practices in greater detail in works such as “Convergence? I Diverge” and Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. In the foreword of Imagining Transmedia, Jenkins states: “All media produced today follows a transmedia logic, loosely speaking, but I used transmedia to narrowly refer to an intentional, coordinated strategy for spreading story elements across multiple media platforms.” He also points out that “readers can deploy transmedia as a source for building a better world for all of us.” (2024, x, xviii) Transmedia story-telling is widely used in the trans-cultural communication to boost the image of national cultures. For instance, Istanbul’s “Museum of Innocence” project reproduces the locations, objects, and scenes from the works of Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, expanding and enriching the text while disseminating the nation’s culture. The core of transmedia story-telling is world-building, where narratives unfold across multiple media platforms, each being independent yet pointing to the same story world, while each new narrative makes a unique and valuable contribution to the overall story. It emphasizes creation, participation, immersion, and in-depth experience. A story may start as a comic or short story, be explored through short videos or podcasts, or enriched by a series of micro-dramas. An important feature of transmedia narration is the role of collective intelligence, the construction of knowledge communities, and the joint exploration, refinement, and consumption of new knowledge by all members, defined as “prosumers” by transmedia scholars. (Jenkins, 2008) Therefore, transmedia story-telling enables traditional and modern stories to build a unified world, which can enrich and expand the discursive space and field of communication, turning the immersed audience into producers and consumers of the stories.

In the meanwhile, introducing cross-sector IP can help build a trans-cultural ecosystem of “all beautiful things from different cultures coexist.” For example, introducing the popular trendy IP Labubu into the story world of the Bird-Shaped Zun, the NO. 1 treasure of the Shanxi Museum, can leverage the inherent co-creation and communication power of Labubu’s fan community to directly activate emotional resonance among audiences in other cultures, eliminate “cultural discount”, and even establish a subcultural community.

For example, to tell local stories about Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression well and remember history, transmedia story telling means breathing life into the vivid photos, precious war relics that demonstrate the history of War of Resistance and videos of local heroes plus heroes’ family members telling their personal experience. By taking advantage of different media to build a unified story world with “drillability, continuity and multiplicity, extractability, and immersion”, Chinese local stories turn audiences into prosumers of War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.( Jenkins, 2008, p93-p130) In this way, a vibrant community for inheriting the spirit of fighting for peace and justice will be constructed, which will also expand its radiation radar and become an organic part of the community with a shared future for mankind.

4. Taking advantage of China’s Local Social Media Platform and LLM

AI technology is widely used in trans-cultural communication. Through in-depth data mining for user profiling, it enables precise delivery and customized communication, significantly improving trans-cultural communication capabilities. However, the transformation from capability to effectiveness is a big leap, which means to avoid AI illusions, deepfakes, and algorithmic manipulation by mainstream Western social media platforms on the one hand and to innovate story construction via embedding AI technologies to achieve in-depth adaptation of cultural symbols and contexts, cultural value recognition, as well as solicit public opinion support, reduce communication noise, and eliminate “cultural discount”.

Firstly, in constructing the discourse of local stories, the use of increasingly capable localized artificial intelligence tools can assist in the in-depth decoding of cultural symbols and adaptation of cultural contexts. For example, via AltDiffusion model of the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, story tellers can have access to Chinese-English bilingual image-text alignment. Large language models like DeepSeek and Doubao, with reasoning ability and online search capabilities, can generate content that conforms to the aesthetics of target cultural groups by mining cultural products from target audience groups, and automatically translate them into multiple languages. They can even adjust cultural symbols and contexts to fit the cultural preferences of local audiences, and help extract the common values between civilizations. This multi-tasking processing capability makes content conform to the target audience in terms of language, vision, and social values, which lowers the cognitive threshold, and effectively achieves cognitive transfer.

Secondly, the application of AI can realize the dialogue and interaction among officials, professionals, key opinion leaders, ordinary audience, and inter-cultural intermediary “other” discourses, break through cognitive barriers, generate value recognition through negotiation and mutual learning, and reconstruct local stories.

Thirdly, intelligent technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) can create immersive on-site experiences to achieve emotional resonance. Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, in Liquid Modernity, proposes that fluidity and change have become constants, rather than organicity and predictability. Fluidity is the new power. Intercultural story-telling in our age presents typical characteristics of liquid society, shifting towards lightness, and individuals are also seeking “lighter connections.” (2000) Driven by ever updating new technologies, the collective memory has transformed into a fluid state, enhancing the autonomy of ordinary audiences. The “light” presentation of their daily lives and experiences can also awaken collective memory. For example, the localized experience brought by a VR video can arouse the collective memory of the hometown among overseas Chinese communities. Leaving comments, sending bullet screens, liking, and sharing on the platform can establish emotional hyperlinks, triggering value resonance with those who sense the same vibe in the global village and forming “liquid” relationships. The popular Labubu’s communication ecosystem, with its fluidity and self-replication, embodies the idea that “fluidity is power.”

5. Conclusion

From the perspective of enhancing soft power, innovating and reconstructing the discourse system of China’s local stories means making effective use of AI technologies for multimodal, plural participants engagement and transmedia narration, as well as cross-sector IP co-branding to achieve cultural and value resonance, build cultural and emotional hyperlinks, break cognitive barriers and realize cognitive transfer. At the same time, it is necessary to counter the information cocoon, eliminate the negative impact of “cultural discount”, and make greater use of China’s local social media platforms and LLM to avoid stereotypes and the interference of meta-narratives originated from mainstream Western platforms. Utilizing digital-intelligent technologies such as VR, AR, and MR will help to create immersive on-site experiences, awaken collective memory, and shape emotional resonance. Thus, the reconstruction of local story is to explore the common grounds with other cultures through dialogue, negotiation, cooperation, exchange, and mutual learning, so as to achieve value resonance and activate empathy.

Author Contributions: All authors contributed to this research.

Funding: Not applicable.

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent Statement/Ethics Approval: Not applicable.

Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies: This study has not used any generative AI tools or technologies in the preparation of this manuscript.