Culture vultures will soon be able to enjoy the full splendor of
the Palace Museum in Beijing without even going
there, thanks to a new virtual tour that will be available online
by 2008.
The project, a joint undertaking by the Palace Museum, also
known as the Forbidden City, and computer company IBM, was launched
on Friday. Organizers promised that it would offer visitors an
interactive, three-dimensional view of the palace.
"This online environment, presented in Chinese and English,
enables visitors to experience the culture and history of the
museum, and is a first-of-its-kind idea," according to James Yeh,
chief technology officer of IBM China.
Technology will help visitors learn more about the ritual center
of the Ming (1368-1644)?and the Qing
(1644-1911)?dynasties, and its collections of treasures.
The virtual tour will provide images from all over the
780,000-square-meter palace, and solve the current problem of
restricted public access to certain treasures and rooms due to
restorative work.
"The Palace Museum is a big book; there are always places you
haven't read about," said Hu Chui, director of the museum's
information department.
"The virtual platform breaks the boundaries of time and space,
meaning visitors can see whatever they want."
As well as seeing the present, they can also see images from the
past, Hu said.
Museum volunteer Zhuang Zeping said the interactive online
museum benefits those who cannot come to the palace.
"A lot of people aren't able to come here for various reasons.
It is such a pity," Zhuang said. "But the online content allows
everyone to feast their eyes on one of the most beautiful museums
in the world."
The younger generation who appear less interested in Chinese
culture are a major target audience, according to Hu.
"Youngsters grow up with McDonald's and KFC. The interactive and
games content in the virtual tour will attract more young people
and encourage them to understand and love our cultural heritage,"
he noted.
For example, part of the virtual tour includes historical
figures that can actually "talk" with visitors and "answer" their
questions.
Despite the enthusiasm, project organizers are bracing
themselves for tough challenges ahead.
"There are huge numbers of stories and pictures, and tourists
will be of all ages and with different cultural backgrounds and
interests. They will all have their own preferences. Therefore,
meeting the demands of each visitor will be challenging," Yeh
said.
Another challenge is building an informative multilingual
platform. Due to inherent difficulties in translating cultural
content, the virtual museum will have more images than text to
start with.
"It is hard to translate culture and what is behind that
culture," Yeh said. "But we have confidence that a multiple
language environment will be achieved."
(China Daily June 19, 2006)