There are cities you visit. And then there are cities that feel like entering a time machine, transporting you somewhere else.
One of those places is in Xi’an, in Shaanxi Province, China.
The experience begins with extraordinary Terracotta statues, traditional music, centuries-old architecture, and performers dressed as if the Tang Dynasty never ended.
But if tourists look more closely, they will discover another layer of the ancient capital not visible to the naked eye: digital and intelligent technologies that help preserve its culture.
Tech for cultural promotion and preservation
One of the people experiencing this blend of tradition and technology is Zhang Beiyuan, a fifth-generation Chinese folk artist and traditional dough sculpture artisan based in Xi’an.
He has found a valuable partner who helps him complete his figurines in less than a week, instead of two to three months: not a person, but a large language model (LLM) that helps accelerate his design workflows.
“We can make this time-honoured technique more appealing to the young generation. I think the key lies in combining a culture with the latest technology,” he said.
We can make this time-honoured technique more appealing to the young generation. I think the key lies in combining a culture with the latest technology. Zhang Beiyuan
Zhang is among the many artisans benefiting from BoGuan, a commercial multimodal LLM for cultural tourism, and Xi’an is once again making history as the first city in the world to put it into widespread use.
It is China’s first industry-specific model, jointly developed by Shaanxi Culture Industry Investment Group (SCG) and Huawei, dedicated to preserving intangible cultural heritage and customs.
When using new technologies such as AI, presenting culture also means ensuring historical authenticity and accuracy. BoGuan addresses this by enabling the creation of accurate historical content, with data as the foundation.
“To build the program AI model, we developed 12 high-quality datasets. Shaanxi boasts a rich collection of historical and cultural resources, so we decided to make the most of our advantages. We built datasets of the important historical figures, classical books, and revolutionary culture,” shared Ma Zhaoying, Publicity and Planning specialist, Group Office, SCG.
The dataset has over 1.2 PB of data, including 31 million images, 4.4 million minutes of video footage, 2.18 million minutes of audio recordings, 510 3D models, and 960 million pieces of structured text.
The model facilitates the reproduction of traditional etiquette and clothing in AI videos, thereby avoiding misuse.
“Xi’an boasts a rich culture of the Tang Dynasty. But you usually don’t have that much time to put on all your clothes. And now it’s much easier. You can take a picture, and you can have a virtual trial,” Ma added.
Beyond recreating historically accurate attires, the LLM also supports the digital presentation of valuable collections by precisely generating museum-tier cultural relics.
Through these, tourists can interact more closely with artefacts and relics in a virtual environment, rather than only seeing them from a distance in glass displays.
The model is also used to create digital IP, such as the popular cartoon character Tang Biaobiao. It is designed by integrating local cultural heritage elements with the stone carvings of the Six Steeds of the Zhao Mausoleum.
BoGuan LLM also powers cultural tourism applications to transform tourists’ experiences.
For example, tourists seeking an AI-generated scene featuring the Terracotta warriors can use the BoGuan-powered Zhiying Camera WeChat mini-program. This AI travel photo generator blends user-provided images with AI-generated digital scenes to create an immersive cultural experience.
Imagine a tourist visiting Xi’an without prior planning; now it is easier with the GO-SHAANXI app, an all-in-one AI tour companion that provides real-time itinerary planning, route guidance, and instant service responses, also powered by BoGuan.
“You are in a nice place; you want to get a nice picture. Sometimes the scenic spots are densely packed. It’s not easy to take a good photo of yourself. You can take your photo with AI,” explained Wang Peng, director of Cultural Tourism Business, Computing Platform at Huawei.
“When you visit museums, you can only hear explanations at fixed spots. But now, with multi-model models, you can interact with the models anytime, anywhere in the museum. You get more support. And you can also interact directly with the models on site. You not only see the exhibits, but you could also understand better the stories behind the exhibits,” he added.
You not only see the exhibits, but you could also understand better the stories behind the exhibits. Wang Peng
SCG is also using BoGuan to integrate short-drama production with cultural tourism and to improve production efficiency and quality.
BoGuan LLM helps tourists experience Xi’an; another technology helps share it: 5G-A, the next evolution of mobile networks.
Seamless, real-time sharing through continuous connection
As daylight sets in, another major attraction in Xi’an remains bright and lively. True to its name, The Datang Everbright City (aka Grand Tang Mall) welcomes tens of thousands of tourists, especially at night.
Tourists flock to the free-entry pedestrian street for performances, themed photo shoots, good food, and other entertainment. In a dense tourist spot like this, every photo, livestream and video call depends on one thing: staying connected.
China Telecom Shaanxi and Huawei made this possible by deploying 5G-A to ensure smooth HD video sharing and continuous connectivity, with the network covering the entire major tourist attraction. Peak uplink and downlink rates of 600 Mbps and 3.5 Gbps, respectively, are about 10 times those of typical 5G networks.
One of its standout features is that visitors hardly notice it, as its structures blend seamlessly into the ancient Tang Dynasty architectural complex.
“Throughout the construction, we strictly adhered to the principle of balancing technological empowerment with landscape preservation,” said Wang Hao, director of Mobile Communications Network Business at China Telecom Shaanxi.
“We make the technology invisible, but keep the signal at full bars and the user experience at its absolute peak,” Wang added.
The disguise enables the technology to fade quietly into the background for centuries-old architecture to remain the centre of attention.
Advancing cultural tourism
Organisations behind these technologies share the same goal: to advance tourism and preserve cultures and heritage.
“This will showcase the innovative practices of next-gen AI in protecting cultural heritage, upgrading tourist experiences, and improving the quality of the cultural tourism industry. We hope to present the Shaanxi solution for digital and intelligent cultural tourism transformation and China’s wisdom to the world,” shared Pang Bo, deputy general manager of SCG.
We hope to present the Shaanxi solution for digital and intelligent cultural tourism transformation and China’s wisdom to the world. Pang Bo
Edric Chu, general manager of Huawei’s Shaanxi Rep Office, said, “Artificial intelligence is not simply a stack of technologies. It has become a key enabler that can activate thousands of years of cultural heritage, reshape travel experiences, and inject new momentum into the industry. Moving forward, Huawei will continue working with our partners to enhance cultural heritage preservation with digital and intelligent technologies, and stimulate development within the cultural tourism industry.”
Preserving the past, powered by the future
There are cities you visit. And then there are cities that feel like entering a time machine, transporting you somewhere else.
Xi’an is proof that experiencing the past does not always mean going back in time, but rather finding new ways to carry it into the present and preserve it for generations to come.
