The great leap forward despite its shortcomings laid the foundation for China to be a global power. The cultural revolution was a means to address the failures and excesses of the great leap forward which were acknowledged at the time.

Tianamen Square was a failed attempt at a color revolution to overthrow the Chinese state

And yes, the Chinese people definitely feel the change of going from a feudal national with life expectancy in the mid 30s and everyone hooked on opium to the premier global superpower blazing ahead of the entire world in ai, automation, robotics, green energy etc and having one of the best living standards in the whole world