Digital tech brings ancient Chinese painting alive in Taipei

TAIPEI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- A digitalized and animated version of the Chinese painting "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" will soon give viewers in Taipei an immersive tour of Chinese city life over 900 years ago.

The multimedia exhibition of the ancient Chinese painting, one of the most famous, will be held from Wednesday to Sept. 15 in Taipei, according to the organizer Firenze Cultural Exchange at a press conference on Tuesday.

The original painting, a scroll 528.7 cm long and 24.8 cm wide, vividly records the buzzing daily life of Bianliang (today's Kaifeng), the imperial capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), in the 12th century.

Using digital animation and projection technologies, the show will allow people to watch 1,068 figures in the painting moving, trees swaying in the wind, and horses and donkeys running, while experiencing the city during the daytime and at night.

By viewing the painting, audiences will learn more about literature, arts, architecture, geographic details and even military arrangements in ancient China, said Garrick Cheng, general manager of Firenze Cultural Exchange.

"We hope that more people in Taiwan, particularly young people, will learn about this masterpiece," Cheng said.

Together with the multimedia show, there will also be supplementary exhibitions introducing the economic, scientific and cultural achievements and people's life during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).