30 Under 30 – Art Meets Tech: China’s Young Creators Shaping Digital Culture
How Tang Wei, a 24-year-old artist, is blending traditional Chinese aesthetics with NFTs and virtual galleries.
📝 By Liang Chen | Culture & Innovation Correspondent
A Childhood Surrounded by Brushes and Screens
Tang Wei (24) grew up in Suzhou, a city famous for its gardens and calligraphy traditions. His grandfather was a painter of classical landscapes, while his parents worked in tech. That unique blend of art and technology shaped Tang’s worldview.
As a child, he practiced ink brush calligraphy, but he also spent late nights experimenting with design software. “In my family, tradition was on one side of the desk, and the computer was on the other,” he recalls.
Blending Tradition with Digital Tools
Today, Tang Wei is a rising star in China’s digital art movement. His work fuses classical Chinese motifs—ink mountains, cranes, and lotus flowers—with virtual reality (VR) and blockchain NFTs.
One of his recent projects, “Metaverse Dunhuang”, reimagines ancient cave paintings in immersive VR galleries. Visitors can walk through 3D temples while listening to traditional guqin music. “I want young people to feel our heritage is alive, not locked in museums,” Tang explains.
A Voice for Gen Z Digital Culture
Tang Wei represents a generation of Chinese creators who see art as both cultural pride and global export. His works are sold as NFTs on platforms integrated with China’s compliance-driven blockchain ecosystem, ensuring alignment with national regulations.
He often speaks about the balance between modernity and tradition: “We don’t need to copy Western pop culture. We have thousands of years of Chinese stories to tell—through new mediums.”
Recognition and Impact
In 2023, Tang Wei was featured in Forbes China 30 Under 30 – Arts & Culture. His VR exhibitions have drawn visitors in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu. He also collaborates with museums to digitize heritage sites for Gen Z audiences.
On Bilibili, his tutorials on combining Photoshop with brush painting have millions of views, inspiring students to merge art and tech in their own projects.
Challenges in the Digital Art World
Despite success, Tang faces challenges. Critics argue digital art is commercializing tradition, while blockchain skeptics question NFTs. But he believes innovation is part of Chinese culture itself. “The Song Dynasty invented movable type printing,” he reminds them. “Why can’t we invent the digital printing press of our time?”
Looking to the Future
Tang Wei’s dream is to build a “National Digital Heritage Lab”, where artists, historians, and engineers work together to preserve China’s culture in interactive formats. He also plans to take his VR exhibitions abroad, showing the world a Chinese narrative of art in the digital age.
A Gen Z Creator with Ancient RootsFor Tang, art is both memory and mission. On his studio wall hangs his grandfather’s calligraphy scroll: “文以载道 (art carries the way).” He smiles: “I just carry it with code instead of brushes.”
