CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- On the weekends, Chongqing Natural History Museum officially opened the first “Holographic Zoo” created with cutting-edge technology in southwest China. Visitors from across the country donned lightweight holographic glasses and instantly experienced the distant era of dinosaurs with the aid of live audio guides, feeling the awe-inspiring presence of these ancient creatures.

At Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, three exhibitions have officially launched, namely “Jade from the Yangtze River - Prehistoric Jade Artifacts from the Yangtze River Basin”, “1200 Years of History - Exploring Baiheliang”, and “Shanxi Meets China - Huaxia Civilization Showcased with 100 Shanxi Artifacts”. These exhibitions showcase not only the prehistoric jade artifacts of the Yangtze River and the bronze treasures of the Yellow River but also highlight the development of the Yangtze River civilization and engage with the Yellow River civilization, telling the compelling Chinese stories and emphasizing Chongqing’s unique features.

On August 5, a relevant person in charge of the Museum Division of Chongqing Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Commission stated that in this summer, the “cultural and museum popularity” continues to rise. Many museums in Chongqing are using cutting-edge technologies like AI and VR or collaborating with other cultural venues to offer a variety of innovative immersive experiences, making cultural relics more vivid and historical and cultural landscapes more engaging, ensuring that visitors have fresh and new experiences every time they visit, and adding new vitality to cultural and tourism consumption in Chongqing.

Cutting-edge technologies make exhibitions more vivid and engaging.

Recently, as soon as the “Holographic Zoo” launched at Chongqing Natural History Museum, tickets were quickly snapped up by eager visitors who had heard about the news.

“As I was walking, a tyrannosaurus suddenly appeared in front of me, and when I turned my head, an oviraptor was baring its teeth at me. It was an amazing experience. When I put on the holographic glasses, it felt like traveling back millions of years; and when I took them off, it felt like living in a future world.” Dong Fangyu, who traveled from Chengdu specifically to visit, highly praised the “Holographic Zoo”.

What kind of technologies make visitors so amazed?

Gao Bichun, Director of Chongqing Natural History Museum, said that industry-leading holographic technology played a crucial role in the “Holographic Zoo”. It used digital twin and holographic imaging technology to authentically reproduce all the details of ancient dinosaurs at a 1:1 scale, bringing realistic dinosaur images to life and allowing visitors to see even the skin textures of the dinosaurs.

This is just a glimpse of how Chongqing Natural History Museum fully utilizes cutting-edge technologies to enhance the exhibition experience. Even before the launch of the “Holographic Zoo”, the Museum had already introduced VR exhibitions. By simply wearing VR glasses, visitors could enjoy a range of three-dimensional animated exhibits tailored to different age groups.

A person in charge of the Museum Division of Chongqing Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Commission said that digitalization has become a new driving force for museums to achieve leapfrog development. In recent years, Chongqing has been committed to digitalizing museum construction, presenting cultural heritage in innovative ways and rejuvenating it with new vitality in modern society.

Currently, Chongqing is accelerating the construction of “Chongqing Online Museum”, making full use of platforms such as television and the internet to further expand the dissemination channels of museums.

“The simultaneous opening of three exhibitions” provided visitors with a one-stop experience of the Yellow River and Yangtze River civilizations.

On July 27, Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum launched a major event in its history - 3 significant exhibitions opening simultaneously.

In the temporary exhibition hall on the fourth floor of the museum, 20 cultural institutions along the Yangtze River, including Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum and Sichuan Museum, jointly launched an exhibition titled “Jade from the Yangtze River—Prehistoric Jade Artifacts from the Yangtze River Basin.” This exhibition features 305 representative jade artifacts from major prehistoric archaeological cultures in the Yangtze River Basin, including jade bi discs, jade pendants, jade discs, and jade congs. Among them, 32 are classified as first-class cultural relics, showcasing the unique cultural, artistic, and scientific value of prehistoric jade artifacts from the Yangtze River.

On the same day, the exhibition titled “Shanxi Meets China - Huaxia Civilization Showcased with 100 Shanxi Artifacts” opened. Leveraging the rich cultural resources of Shanxi Museum, the exhibition explores the development of Huaxia civilization through over a hundred Shanxi artifacts, and highlights Shanxi’s significant role during key periods from the evolution of ancient human societies to the origin, development and formation of Huaxia civilization.

At the same time, the exhibition titled “1200 Years of History - Exploring Baiheliang” in the temporary exhibition hall on the third floor of the Museum is also captivating. Visitors can glimpse the production, lifestyle, and spirit of people in Sichuan and Chongqing regions through Baiheliang inscriptions displayed.

From the prehistoric jade of the Yangtze River to the bronze treasures of the Yellow River, the stories of China’s two mother rivers shine in new and complementary ways within the Museum.

Mou Fengjing, Director of Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, said that the museum hoped the simultaneous launch of the three major exhibitions would not only showcase the development of the Yangtze River civilization and engage with the Yellow River civilization but also tell compelling Chinese stories while highlighting Chongqing’s unique features.

A person in charge of the Museum Division of Chongqing Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Commission stated that in the future, Chongqing would carefully organize and plan exhibitions and activities for traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival, aiming to bring more high-quality exhibitions “in” and “out”. (Translated by Vichy, Fathom Language Limited)