【 Cultural Analysis 】 Immersive Experience of the "Heat" of Traditional Culture | Wisdom | Culture

Cultural Analysis

Author: Si Ruo Pang Shengnan

Recently, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the first batch of pilot projects for cultivating immersive new spaces for smart tourism in China. Traditional cultural themed immersive experience spaces such as the Chang'an Twelve Hours Smart Tour, the Nishan Holy Land Cultural Night Tour, the Leap Qingming Riverside Map, and the Night Yellow Crane Tower have been successfully selected.

The creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture must be integrated into the lives of the people in order to truly play its role. Immersive tourism is an emerging form of tourism in recent years. In an immersive experiential space, tourists can immerse themselves in the cultural life of different eras through environmental scenery, actor performances, and plot interactions. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasizes the need to "adhere to creative transformation and innovative development", "inherit excellent traditional Chinese culture, and meet the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the people.". Through new technologies, methods, and forms, we have made beneficial explorations in achieving the "two innovations" of excellent traditional Chinese culture and creating a new space for immersive experience in smart tourism.

Labeling traditional culture is an important factor influencing the popularity of immersive experiential spaces. The immersive experience space showcases and extracts appropriate elements from the excellent traditional Chinese culture, allowing tourists to experience the charm of Chinese excellent traditional culture during their travels. In Xi'an, tourists immerse themselves in the Chang'an Fantasy Tang immersive experience space to learn literature and martial arts, practice Tai Chi, recite ancient poetry, and experience the charm of "Ni Shang Yu Yi Qu" and "Jiang Jin Jiu" in the Chang'an Twelve Hours Theme Block. In Shandong, in the holy land of Mount Ni, drones lift countless Kongming lanterns carrying beautiful wishes and fly high into the sky. Tourists read the Analects and make sachets, experiencing the vastness and profoundness of Confucian culture through interactive participation. At the Qingming Riverside Park in Henan, tourists can experience the legendary masterpiece "Qingming Riverside Map" 360 degrees in front of the IMAX giant spherical screen, immersing themselves in the market of the Song Dynasty and experiencing the life of the people of the Song Dynasty. In Wuhan, the night tour of the Yellow Crane Tower's light and shadow show tells tourists the historical stories that happened here. In Xinjiang, the cultural relics revitalization stage play "The Language of a Thousand Years" staged in museums allows tourists to travel through time and space, appreciate the magnificent scenery of communication and integration among various ethnic groups on the Silk Road. The immersive experience space with traditional cultural themes attracts tourists of different ages through exciting performances and clever interactions, becoming an important platform for the dissemination and display of excellent traditional Chinese culture.

The popularity of immersive experience spaces is not only due to the people's love for excellent traditional Chinese culture, but also due to the comprehensive recovery of the domestic tourism market during holidays. Data shows that in the first four months of this year, the national tourism market has steadily recovered, with scenic spots, travel agencies, entertainment and other scenic spots showing a high degree of prosperity. Residents' willingness to travel has increased, reaching 56.3%, which is 15.77 percentage points higher than the same period in 2019. The trend of "accelerating recovery and thriving supply and demand" is obvious. In this hot summer, the demand for night tours has become particularly strong due to weather and other reasons. The "Summer Night Tour Report 2023" recently released by the China Tourism Research Institute shows that Chinese residents have a strong willingness to travel at night in 2023, with 95% of respondents indicating plans for night tours this year. This creates the possibility for an immersive experience space supported by lighting and multimedia technology.

Of course, the continuous development of immersive experience in new spaces is still in the exploratory stage. For audiences of different age groups who flock to the real-life space, some interactive activities may seem childish, and some relatively mature tourists lose interest in interaction and hastily leave the venue while constantly being directed by NPCs. Due to differences in the purpose of playing, there are often scenes in immersive experiential spaces where "modern people" and "ancient people" travel together, and photographers dressed in modern clothing gather to shoot for tourists dressed in traditional clothing, which affects the immersion of tourists. In this regard, designers can try to provide tourists with higher freedom of choice by optimizing interactive activities, zoning tours, and other methods, ensuring both freshness for first-time visitors and immersion for deep players, and improving tourist satisfaction and participation.

Currently, under the empowerment of excellent traditional Chinese culture, immersive experiential spaces are blooming throughout the country, providing tourists with a cultural tourism experience that combines artistry and novelty. With the continuous development of information technology, designers of immersive experience spaces need to leverage new technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality to further explore the treasures hidden in excellent traditional Chinese culture. Through careful polishing of the experience process and refined management of the process, immersive experience spaces can have both a beautiful exterior and a profound soul, truly becoming a practical stage for the "two innovations" of excellent traditional Chinese culture that can enter the hearts of the people.

Guangming Daily