From September 10 to 14, 2025, the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) Cultural Tourism Services Exhibition was held at the Shougang Park in Beijing. Under the theme of "Technology Empowers, Creativity Leads," the exhibition showcased the in-depth integration of technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) with the cultural tourism industry, attracting over 500 companies and institutions from around the world.
This year's CIFTIS Cultural Tourism Exhibition spanned 20,000 square meters and was divided into three exhibition areas: "Digital Culture and Tourism," "Smart Scenic Spots," and "Immersive Experiences." Among them, the "Dreaming of the Old Summer Palace" VR experience project, using 1:1 digital reconstruction technology, recreates the architectural style of the Old Summer Palace during its heyday. Visitors can use wearable devices to "enter" historical scenes and interact with virtual characters. Developed by a team from Tsinghua University over three years, the project has collected data on over 100,000 cultural relics with millimeter-level accuracy.
Another highlight is the "Amazon Adventure Fantasy" MR experience, which combines the ecology of the Brazilian rainforest with virtual creatures. Visitors can use mixed reality glasses to observe 3D models of endangered species and participate in virtual environmental missions. The developers say the project aims to raise public awareness of ecological conservation through gamification.
The exhibition also released the "2025 Cultural Tourism Technology White Paper," which indicates that the scale of China's cultural tourism technology market has exceeded 800 billion yuan, with an annual growth rate of 22%. New technologies such as AI tour guides, unmanned hotels, and blockchain ticketing have achieved an application coverage rate of over 60%. The Palace Museum's "Digital Cultural Relics Library" project, utilizing 3D scanning and AI restoration technology, has digitized over 2,000 precious cultural relics and has garnered over 500 million visits.
In the international exhibition area, a Japanese team's demonstration of "holographic kabuki" technology attracted significant attention. Through 8K holographic projection, Noh performances can be beamed live to theaters around the world, solving the logistical challenges of international performances of traditional art. South Korea has launched an "AI Travel Planner" that dynamically adjusts itinerary recommendations based on visitor emotion recognition technology.
Notably, this year's exhibition features a dedicated "Rural Cultural Tourism Technology" zone for the first time. The "Smart Homestay Cluster" system in Moganshan, Zhejiang, fully automates energy management, security monitoring, and personalized services through IoT devices, increasing occupancy rates by 40%. The "Digital Agricultural Tourism" project at the Hani Rice Terraces in Yunnan uses AR technology to showcase millennia-old agricultural wisdom to visitors, driving a threefold increase in local agricultural product sales.
At the closing ceremony, 24 technology and cultural tourism projects were signed, totaling 24 billion yuan. The Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism stated that the next step will be to focus on promoting "new cultural tourism infrastructure," with plans to achieve full coverage of smart guides in 5A-level scenic spots within three years and cultivate 100 "Metaverse Tourism Demonstration Zones." Experts predict that with the penetration of technologies like AI and quantum computing, future cultural tourism experiences will transcend the limitations of physical space and enter a new era of "virtual-real symbiosis."