In the context where short videos have become the mainstream arena for cross-cultural communication, the international dissemination of urban intangible cultural heritage (ICH) faces core dilemmas such as high cultural discount, weak interactivity, and insufficient narrative depth. This study takes the bilingual short video series Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage in the 24 Solar Terms, launched by Zhengzhou’s official external communication brand WhereZhengzhou, as the research object. Based on multimodal discourse analysis theory, a qualitative study was conducted on 50 video corpora. The findings reveal that the series effectively lowers the threshold for cross-cultural understanding by employing an innovative Solar Terms and ICH narrative framework, relying on modal synergy of language, vision, and hearing, and adopting poetic translation strategies to concretize abstract Chinese philosophy. However, issues such as superficial content excavation, residual propaganda mindset, and lack of user co-creation persist. Combining cross-cultural communication theories with digital intelligence practices, this paper proposes optimization paths including deep narrative construction, unified visual symbols, community ecosystem co-construction, and technology-enabled immersion. These measures aim to achieve a transformation from one-way output to two-way resonance, providing actionable practical references for the global expansion of urban ICH in the digital era.
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Share and Cite
Cheng, F. (2025) International Communication Strategies for Urban Intangible Cultural Heritage – A Case Study of Zhengzhou’s 24 Solar Terms Series. Journal of Social Development and History, 1(6), 141-147. https://doi.org/10.71052/jsdh/YJZK6234