Palace Museum upgrades digital products to offer in-depth virtual tour experience

While capping its daily number of visitors at 30,000 during the peak summer vacation season, the world-famous Palace Museum in Beijing has upgraded its digital products to offer in-depth virtual tours, according to a press conference on July 21.

Photo shows 20 live-streaming courses to be offered by the Palace Museum during the summer vacation. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

The museum’s WeChat mini-program Digital Palace Museum, which offers online tours among other services, has recorded 23 million visits since it was launched last year, said Yu Zhuang, deputy head of the museum’s department of IT, imaging and digital media.

With the mini-program, people can enjoy 360-degree views of places of interest at the museum, including those not open to the public, just by clicking their phones, according to Yu.

Thanks to some major upgrades to the mini-program, visitors are now able to make bookings, arrange their routes, and avoid sites with large crowds according to real-time positioning, Yu said, adding that they can also consult with the mini-program at any time to discover the stories behind the museum’s cultural relics.

Yu Zhuang, deputy head of the department of IT, imaging and digital media of the Palace Museum, introduces the museum. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

From August 11 to 22, the museum will offer 20 live-streaming courses with the theme of cultural relics and nature, with each focusing on a relic at the museum and scientific knowledge behind the treasure. For example, a course on an armillary sphere, an astronomical plotting device made of wood and metal that was extensively used in the 17th century in China, introduces some astronomical knowledge from ancient China.

The courses bring cultural relics in the museum back to life and give people a better understanding of Chinese culture, according to Guo Meixia, director of the museum’s publicity and education department.

Guo explained that the department would also hold more live-streaming sessions and other events to bring online audiences a cultural feast.