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)