China News Service, Hangzhou, October 6 (Linbo) During the National Day holiday, a number of new AI cultural tourism scenes were unveiled in Zhejiang. From ancient pagodas that can talk to each other, cultural relics recognition systems, to immersive XR narratives, and lightweight cultural tourism entrepreneurial models in counties, AI is pushing Zhejiang's cultural tourism to break out of the traditional tourism framework and explore a new path for technology to empower cultural inheritance and digitally activate the tourism economy.
When artificial intelligence deeply intervenes in the cultural tourism industry, Zhejiang is answering a deeper question: What exactly does AI bring to "Poetry and Painting Zhejiang"?
First of all, from "looking at the scenery" to "entering the scenery", AI makes thousands of years of context within reach.
For a long time, most cultural relics, ancient books, and historical allusions have been sealed in showcases and classics. There is a threshold between protection and mass communication. Today, artificial intelligence has opened up the channel between cultural resources and ordinary people, allowing dormant cultural genes to "speak".
During the National Day holiday, tourists took photos with "Feng Xiaotao" in Fenghua, Zhejiang. (Photo courtesy of Fenghua Cultural Tourism Group)
Hangzhou's urban cultural tourism intelligence "Hang Xiaoyi" integrates Hangzhou's Wuyue allusions, food and city walking routes. Visitors can start a conversational journey at any time and generate a personalized tour plan based on personal preferences; Leifeng Pagoda's AI digital IP "Lei Xiaofeng" builds an exclusive knowledge base to allow thousands of people to The ancient pagoda can quote scriptures and dialogue with tourists across time and space; the West Lake Museum has linked up with the important cultural gene map of Zhejiang Province to launch the "AI to identify cultural relics and explore 'Why Zhejiang'" activity. Visitors can scan the QR code and take photos to understand the Wu and Yue stories behind the artifacts, and put the rich regional civilization into their mobile phones.
Not only that, during the National Day holiday, more cultural museums and ancient villages and towns will launch AI escort tours. The Deshou Palace of the Southern Song Dynasty launched the XR immersive exhibition "Song of Mountains and Seas". Visitors can return to Lin'an City 800 years ago by wearing a headset and experience the past of tide watching in the Southern Song Dynasty. The AI intelligent agent "Feng Xiaotao" in Xikou, Ningbo, turns into a portable tour guide. With a voice command, tourists can get explanations of historical sites and check-in seat recommendations.
On October 4, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, a humanoid robot performed an ancient dance. Photo by Wang Gang
The change brought about by AI does not lie in using digital technology to reproduce cultural relics, but in transforming solid cultural materials into interactive, conversational, and customizable experiences, lowering the threshold for cultural understanding. Cultural relics are no longer just exhibits in glass cabinets, and history is no longer just words in books. The cultural context has moved from static preservation to continuous growth, allowing ordinary people to touch the cultural roots of Zhejiang anytime and anywhere.
Furthermore, from “tourism” to “creativity”, AI reconstructs the production mode of cultural tourism.
If cultural revitalization is the “first level of change” brought about by AI, then the changes at the industrial level are even more profound. In the past, the core of traveling was “seeing the scenery and taking photos.” Under the wave of AI, the identity of tourists has changed from bystanders to story participants, and the production, marketing, and consumption chains of the cultural tourism industry have been reshaped.
In Zhejiang, AI short dramas and XR immersive narratives allow tourists to get involved; the Jiande low-altitude tourism project opens up the mountains and rivers of western Zhejiang from a different perspective; the "one person + AI" OPC lightweight entrepreneurial model significantly lowers the threshold for county cultural tourism entrepreneurship, allowing local resources to be transformed into cultural tourism products at a low cost, and increasing revenue from rural cultural tourism.
On October 1, the "First National Human-Computer Interactive Games" was held in Wensan Digital Life Street, Hangzhou. Photo by Wu Junyi
During the National Day holiday, new digital cultural tourism formats continued to unleash consumer vitality. Hangzhou Wensan Digital Living District launched robot opera performances and human-computer interaction competitions. Robot dogs and humanoid robots performed on the stage, attracting a large number of parent-child tourists. The Grand Canal Hangzhou Steel Park Cyber Roaming Carnival created human-computer interaction scenes on industrial sites, and old factories were given a new lease of life by AI.
Data is the most intuitive proof of the vitality of the industry. In the first half of this year, the revenue of cultural enterprises above designated size in Gongshu District, Hangzhou, where the Grand Canal Hangzhou Steel Park is located, reached 21.61 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.2%. The digital cultural tourism scene continues to release economic momentum.
In addition, AI is giving birth to new jobs, new products, and new business models: creators use AI to quickly generate scripts, short videos, and digital IP; county operators rely on large models to quickly produce tour content and plan themed routes; tourists are willing to pay for immersive narratives, personalized companionship, and digital cultural creation. The "ceiling" of the tourism economy has been broken, and the experience economy and creative economy have become new engines for the growth of Zhejiang's cultural tourism.
From "piloting first" to "institutional supply", behind the transformation of "AI + cultural tourism" is a systematic layout.
Facing the "15th Five-Year Plan", Zhejiang proposes to build a high-level cultural and tourism province, vigorously implement the "data elements × cultural tourism" three-year action, and create a development highland of "artificial intelligence + cultural tourism".
Zhejiang’s exploration has always adhered to a bottom line: science and technology serve humanities, rather than putting the cart before the horse. AI is not simply a pile of cool equipment, but based on Zhejiang's rich cultural heritage of Song Dynasty, Wuyue, Grand Canal, Liangzhu, etc., using digital tools to activate local cultural genes, taking into account the safety of cultural relics, cultural authenticity, and mass communication.
Looking at the country, many places are deploying AI cultural tourism, but Zhejiang’s unique advantage lies in the superposition of digital industry foundation, rich cultural resources and county innovation vitality, forming a multi-level testing ground from urban scenic spots to rural ancient towns, from large cultural and museum venues to small and micro entrepreneurial entities.
On the one hand, Zhejiang relies on platforms such as "Travel in Zhejiang" and "Hi Travel" to iterate large-scale cultural and tourism models and build a provincial-level digital base for cultural tourism; on the other hand, it encourages small and micro entities in counties to travel lightly and use low-cost AI tools to revitalize local culture to achieve sharing between hosts and guests and enrich people through cultural tourism.
Technology iteration will never stop, but the essence of tourism is the encounter between people and mountains and rivers, and between people and culture. In Zhejiang, AI has given wings to cultural tourism. The main purpose is to let more people understand the cultural context of Jiangnan and fall in love with this landscape. (over)
