Exploring Terracotta Warriors through digital lens

In this late autumn and throughout much of winter, visiting the former site of the National Mongolian and Tibetan School in Beijing, now serving as an exhibition center on Chinese ethnic culture, visitors can expect an in-depth exploration of the Terracotta Warriors in digital ways.

Wearing virtual-reality glasses, they can experience the processes of discovery, research, and restoration of the Terracotta Warriors, a vast underground army crafted to accompany the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) in the afterlife. The digital experiencing projects are parts of an exhibition that opened on Tuesday and will run until mid-January.

He Yan, vice-president of Minzu Unity and Progress Association of Beijing, said the exhibition emphasizes the concept of digitization and combines AR and VR experiences, digital interactions and immersive spaces, successfully enhances the interactive experience for visitors and infuses new vitality to the historical and cultural value.

In addition to the digital exploration of the Terracotta Warriors, experiencing projects such as "repairing" Terracotta Warriors, stringing bamboo slips like ancient people did, trying on ancient costumes, viewing scenes of the historical sites like Yueyang Tower, Yuelu Academy, Chengtoushan site of Hunan province are also available for visitors.

Established in 1913, the National Mongolian and Tibetan School was one of the first schools for students of ethnic groups in the country. In 1918, the school which was initially a middle school became the first college for students of ethnic groups. In March 2023, the school was transformed into an exhibition center on Chinese ethnic culture.