Hunan's smart tourism brings cultural relics closer to visitors

On Yueyang Tower Again, an immersive night show in Yueyang. [Photo/Huaihua Daily]

Hunan province has rolled out a series of smart tourism projects driven by digital technologies. These projects feature digitalized cultural relics, immersive performances and intelligent service platforms.

One particular project is the Wuxi Stele Forest in Yongzhou, which has restored 505 cliff carvings using high-precision imaging technology and built the world's first digital museum of cliff inscriptions, allowing visitors to interact with ancient carvings through artificial intelligence and holographic projection.

Hunan Museum's "Digital Han Life" offers immersive experiences based on Mawangdui Han Tomb relics. The SumHi digital cultural platform has digitized 27,000 relics and served nearly 30 million users in seven months.

In addition to digital preservation, immersive performances have become a highlight of Hunan's smart tourism drive. One such performance, titled On Yueyang Tower Again, uses digital control and naked-eye holography to guide visitors through the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) style with a virtual representation of Fan Zhongyan, a renowned statesman and poet.

Supported by a special fund and backed by over 4,000 digital cultural enterprises in Malanshan Video Cultural and Creative Park, Hunan's smart tourism is booming.

The strong momentum in this sector is reflected in visitor data. During the 2025 May Day holiday, Hunan received 27.32 million tourists, representing a 47.72 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Zhong Jun, president of Hunan Academy of Social Sciences, said that the integration of culture and technology has led to new cultural and consumption formats. "These innovations not only bring cultural relics and history closer to travelers through immersive experiences but also unlock new growth potential for Hunan's cultural industry," he said.