The Value of Red Study Tours in the Construction of University Students' Identity: An Analysis Based on Ritual Practice

Driven by the dual forces of the “Great Ideological and Political Education” framework and the demand for high-quality experiential education, red study tours have become a vital platform for higher education institutions to implement ideological and political education and cultivate a new generation suited to the times. This paper, grounded in ritual practice, explores the ritualistic features of red study tours in universities and their value in shaping the identity of young college students. The study finds that red study tours translate national memory into tangible and perceivable collective emotional experiences through ritualized structures and ritual symbols In the continuous process of “situational embedding – emotional resonance – role model imitation – reflective internalization,” students achieve a sense of life consciousness and multiple identity recognitions as national citizens, members of the Chinese nation, and young people of the new era. At the same time, red study tours should incorporate reflexive design to sustain the vitality of the ritual, leaving space for students’ re-narration and enabling red study tours to evolve from an “institutionalized practice” into a “dynamic field of identity construction.”