"It feels like the murals in the cave are coming to life right before my eyes," an Indonesian tourist exclaimed after attending the immersive performance 'Weidong Dunhuang' on the evening of July 2 in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China.
The 70-minute show transported the audience into the world of the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site that holds the essence of Buddhist art accumulated over a millennium by Eastern and Western civilizations along the Silk Road.
The performance featured ancient musical instruments like the pipa and the xiao, with celestial dancers known as 'Feitian' soaring through the air, while the nine-colored deer, 'Jiuse Lu', frolicked on stage. Traditional dances depicted in the murals, such as the Hu Xuan Wu (a spinning dance from the West), Yao Gu Wu (waist drum dance), and the Pipa Wu (dance performed while playing the pipa), were brought to life through holograms and the dancers' movements.
Dunhuang's ancient art, which flourished along the Silk Road, is now being transformed into new cultural content through advanced technology.
The cultural heritage of Dunhuang is also evident in everyday life. Camel-shaped traffic lights, streetlights and bus stops adorned with images of Feitian and Jiuse Lu, and building walls featuring the unique colors and patterns of the Mogao murals seamlessly blend the ancient Silk Road heritage with the modern urban landscape.
The city of Dunhuang, with a population of 180,000, welcomed 23.91 million tourists last year, surpassing 20 million for the first time. The tourism industry is a key sector, accounting for about two-thirds of the local economy.
Visiting the Mogao Caves is just the beginning of a Dunhuang trip. The city is developing its cultural heritage into digital content and cultural IP, fostering new growth in the tourism industry.
A prime example is the 'Digital Dunhuang' project. To prevent damage to the murals, access to the actual caves is strictly limited in terms of time and lighting. Instead, 735 caves and 45,000 square meters of murals have been digitized in ultra-high resolution. Visitors can enjoy detailed views of the murals and ceiling patterns at a digital exhibition center before entering the caves. The digital experience alleviated the disappointment of only being able to explore eight caves in the dark with a guide's flashlight.
The influence of Dunhuang's IP is also evident in the gaming industry. Tencent's popular game 'Honor of Kings', which boasts 260 million monthly active users worldwide, collaborated with the Dunhuang Research Institute to introduce limited skins inspired by the Mogao murals' Feitian and Jiuse Lu. Notably, the Feitian skin sold over 40 million sets, demonstrating that cultural heritage can thrive in gaming content.
NetEase's mobile game 'Reverse' also sent its production team to Dunhuang to recreate the Mogao Caves, the crescent-shaped oasis of Mingsha Mountain, and the scenery of the Yueya Spring in the game. Various dances depicted in the Dunhuang murals were reproduced using motion capture technology, with cultural experts consulted to expand the heritage into the game's universe.
Feitian and Jiuse Lu have evolved from mere souvenirs at the Dunhuang Museum to characters in animations and fashion accessories. This shift connects cultural heritage from being a subject of preservation to one of consumption and experience, particularly popular among tourists in their 20s and 30s who have encountered Dunhuang's enchanting culture through games.
The Dunhuang Museum's gift shop is bustling with tourists exploring a variety of merchandise. From refrigerator magnets and postcards to cups and plates, as well as silk scarves featuring various patterns from the Mogao murals, mouse pads, seals, and even skateboards inspired by Feitian, Dunhuang has become a major cultural IP in China, achieving annual sales exceeding 10 billion yuan (approximately $2.25 billion) alongside the Forbidden City.
Recently, China has been nurturing its cultural heritage as a source of cultural soft power and content industry amid the 'Guochao' (national trend) movement, which modernizes traditional culture. Dunhuang, in particular, is becoming a testing ground for the 'cultural IP industry', reinterpreting the Silk Road's heritage through digital technology and content to create new economic value.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.