Thousands of students, supported by their parents and teachers and mobilising through online social media, played a central role in the recent protests against plans for a heavy-metal plant in Shifang , Sichuan province.
Now some people are asking whether this 'post-90s' generation, as it has been dubbed by the mainland media, will turn up elsewhere to defend its rights and even push for democracy.
Han Han , the mainland's most popular blogger, is among those who have praised the role of these teenagers and young people in the Shifang protests.
'If the earthquake in Wenchuan changed people's viewpoint of the post-80s generation, then the Shifang incident has had a similar effect in relation to the post-90s,' he wrote.
'Post-80s' refers to those who were once regarded as members of a generation seen as spoilt as a result of the mainland's one-child policy, a perception that was overturned after many of its members flocked to Sichuan to take part in relief efforts after the region was hit by a devastating earthquake four years ago.
Han pointed out that post-90s youngsters from around the country had mobilised in support of protesters in Shifang after about 5,000 students took to the streets of the county-level city on July 1 to oppose plans to build a multi-billion-yuan molybdenum-copper alloy plant in their hometown.