On April 14, a group of international influencers continued their journey exploring the charms of Xi'an empowered by digital technologies, two days before the World Internet Conference (WIC) Digital Silk Road Development Forum takes place in the city. Their destinations were the Xi'an ancient city wall and the Xi'an Museum.

As one of the most renowned city walls in Chinese history and the best-preserved ancient city wall, the Xi'an city wall, dating back 600 years to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is now enhanced with cutting-edge digital technologies, captivating global travelers from around the world. LoT sensing devices have been installed and non-destructive testing equipment has been used to inspect potential hazards, forming a database for the wall where artificial intelligence analysis can be conducted and generated with one click covering four scenarios: cultural preservation, cultural tourism, flood prevention and emergency response.

In cooperation with Alibaba Yuanjing – the e-commerce giant's metaverse business unit – the Xi'an Museum applied the latest metaverse technology to create a brand new immersive cultural tourism and museum experience. Combined with real-time cloud rendering, interactive 3D content and the precious cultural relics, a metaverse world is created where visitors can immerse themselves and interact with the cultural artifacts.

The international influencers' tour was part of the events of the WIC Digital Silk Road Development Forum, hosted by the WIC and organized by the People's Government of Shaanxi Province. Themed on "Connectivity and Shared Prosperity", the forum will take place on April 16, gathering representatives from public and private sectors, as well as experts from academic circles, to discuss such topics as digital infrastructure and capacity building, digital cultural exchanges, cooperation in cross-border e-commerce, digital technology empowering agricultural production and improving rural governance.