Concept photo of the full-scale digital scripture cave online of the world-famous Mogao Grottoes launched by Dunhuang Research Institute and Tencent on June 15, 2022. Photo: courtesy of Tencent

The Dunhuang Research Institute and Tencent on Wednesday launched a digital laboratory to build a full-scale digital scripture cave online of the world-famous Mogao Grottoes, sharing with the public the "fresh life" behind the cultural relics in an interactive experience.

They will use laser scanning and photo reconstruction technology, combined with procedural content generation and physically based rendering technologies, to restore the details of the ancient paintings and cultural relics with millimeter-level accuracy 1:1, and simulate the lighting and vegetation of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang at different times, in a bid to build a full-scale digital scripture cave online, according to a release Tencent sent to the Global Times. 

The two parties signed a five-year strategic cooperation agreement. Based on the technology laboratory and using the game technology of Tencent Interactive Entertainment, they will jointly develop cultural and creative intellectual property (IP) products and carry out in-depth cooperation in many fields.

The two sides also create an official virtual person of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, named Jia Yao. As the first digital Dunhuang cultural ambassador, Jia Yao will meet the public through virtual live broadcasts of exhibitions and cross-border cooperation in IP innovation. 

Dunhuang Research Institute and Tencent create an official virtual person of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, named Jia Yao, on June 15, 2022. Photo: courtesy of Tencent

Jia Yao will become the first digital guide in Dunhuang.

The Library Cave of Dunhuang was one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century in China. The cave contains more than 60,000 cultural relics ranging from the 4th to 11th centuries AD, including scriptures, documents and silk paintings. However, due to historical reasons, these precious cultural relics have been scattered all over the world, and most people have no chance to see their true colors. 

The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are a 1,600-year-old UNESCO world heritage site. Located at a cultural and religious crossroads on the ancient Silk Road, they are also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes.

With the rapid development of the digital economy, more technology companies and cultural institutions have joined hands to introduce cutting-edge digital technologies to explore new forms of digital cultural protection.

In May, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, China's cabinet, jointly released a guideline underpinning digitalization of the cultural industry.

The country will speed up the digital layout of the industry, help cultivate a group of cultural enterprises in the fields of cultural data collection, processing and trading, and support eligible digital cultural enterprises in IPOs on the science and technology innovation board, also known as the STAR Market, the guideline read.

Global Times