Spanish sinologist experiences Tang Dynasty through AI in Xi'an

For Alicia Relinque Eleta, a Spanish sinologist and professor of Chinese literature at the University of Granada, the Tang Dynasty has long been a world of poetry, scholarship and imagination.

Relinque has spent decades studying the language, aesthetics and cultural spirit of ancient China. During a recent visit to Xi'an, the former Tang Dynasty capital, she encountered that world in an entirely new way — not through a manuscript or a printed page, but through artificial intelligence and immersive technology.

Relinque's journey began at Shaanxi Qianfan Yinghai Cultural Media, an AI video studio in Xi'an, where digital tools created an unexpected meeting across time. Dressed in Tang-style clothing, she stepped into an AI-generated historical scene and came face to face with a digital recreation of Du Fu, her favorite Chinese poet and one of the most celebrated literary figures of the Tang Dynasty. Through visual generation, virtual scene-building and interactive dialogue, the experience turned what had long lived only on the page into something visible and immediate.

At the Qu Jiang Flying Theatre, technology expanded that encounter into a sweeping vision of ancient Chang'an. Via a 270-degree 4K dome screen with moving seats, Relinque "flew" over the Tang capital, taking in digitally recreated palaces, streets and landscapes.

The journey then moved from spectacle to street life. At The Longest Day in Chang'an Theme Block, Relinque explored a more intimate version of Tang-style urban culture. An AI costume mirror transformed her appearance within seconds, while AR installations, live performers and a robot serving tea created moments where ancient atmosphere and modern technology met in playful, unexpected ways.

For Relinque, the experience was more than a technological demonstration. It raised questions about how the past is reconstructed and interpreted. Through AI and immersive media, the Tang Dynasty became a world she could briefly enter and question — one that showed how new technologies are reshaping the way people encounter history.