Inspired by Genshin Impact's Dehya, Chinese gamers start kids' charity campaign
Dehya's teaser showed her starting a fund to help bring education to orphans from the desert.
Genshin Impact players in China have started a charity campaign in support for children's education in the country after getting inspired by the character teaser for Dehya, the new playable character to be released in the upcoming version 3.5 update.
In the teaser, Dehya is shown donating the life savings she earned as a famed mercenary to start a fund called 'The Wall of Hope', which will provide education for orphans from Sumeru's destitute desert region.
Inspired by the teaser, many Chinese Genshin Impact players began donating to the 'Project Hope' charity, a public service drive started in 1989 that aimed to establish schools and promote modern education in the many poverty-stricken rural areas in China.
Content creators and influencers were among those that spearheaded the effort, with many posting videos on Chinese social media sites like Bilibili to encourage other Genshin Impact players to do the same.
News of the Chinese Genshin Impact community's efforts reached the game's global community, largely thanks to a post in the official Genshin Impact subreddit by /u/Fxavierho.
The original poster included screenshots of donations made by Chinese Genshin Impact players, with many referencing the game and Dehya's teaser in their donations.
One of the most-used references was '648', which refers to the maximum amount of Genesis Crystals players can purchase. Many players said they donated the money they would have used to buy Genesis Crystals.
Genesis Crystals are a form of in-game currency that can be converted to Primogems, another in-game currency that players most often use to acquire new characters and weapons through Genshin Impact's gacha system.
Donations were also made under the names of characters from Genshin Impact, most often being Dehya, and those from other HoYoverse games.
Dehya and the Wall of Hope
The name of the fund Dehya created in her teaser is a reference to the 'Wall of Samiel', a geological formation in Sumeru that divides the nation's rainforest and desert regions.
In the game's lore, the wall was created by the Dendro Archon to protect the rainforests of Sumeru from sandstorms. However, the Sages of the Sumeru Akademiya, the ruling body of the nation, instead used the wall to divide Sumeru and prevent many of the people living in the desert from moving to the rainforests for education and better opportunities for a living.
In the teaser, Dehya was even shown sneaking refugees over the Wall of Samiel and into the rainforests, even promising them protection should they get caught.
Dehya became a beloved character in the Genshin Impact community for the bravery and kindness she showed throughout the Sumeru Archon Quests.
Aside from helping her desert brethren, some of her most noteworthy acts include selling her weapon to help fund the Sabzeruz Festival organised by Dunyarzad and offering to sacrifice her own arm to protect the Traveler and his party.
Dehya was also a prominent figure in the Traveler's quest to free the Dendro Archon from the clutches of the corrupt Akademiya and stop a nefarious plot centered on the Fatui Harbingers Scaramouche and Il Dottore.
Dehya will make her debut as a playable 5-star character in Genshin Impact version 3.5, which will be released on Wednesday (1 March).
Aside from Dehya, version 3.5 will also feature the debut of 4-star character Mika as well as reruns for Cyno, Kamisato Ayaka, and Shenhe.
Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.
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