New app enhances the palace experience and puts China's ancient history in a very modern context

It looks like a life simulation computer game - but a new app for an online community provides more than just entertainment.

Users are able to "construct" houses in a virtual ancient Chinese city with a royal aura in the app, produced by the Palace Museum in Beijing - China's former imperial palace, also known as the Forbidden City. It announced on May 18 the launch of its flagship app in the Apple Store.

The Palace Museum Community allows users to build up a virtual city with traditional Chinese architecture as an online social network platform. Users can win bonuses by completing missions, therefore advancing their levels and refurnishing their properties. A major mission involves reading, sharing and posting articles about the museum and other aspects on traditional culture.

According to Yu Zhuang, head of the new media team in the Palace Museum, the app also serves as a hub to connect nine apps and other digital platforms previously released by the museum. Content such as exhibition information, tour guidance, digital displays of collections and academic research results are also mixed into the interactive game.

"For many people, the Palace Museum has become a lifestyle as they use our apps," Yu says. "The internet has provided us with more channels to expand museum influences to more corners of people's everyday life."

For example, 365 Days of Masterpieces, which was released by the museum in 2015, is a calendar app which introduces one piece each day from a highlighted collection, also providing cultural back ground. It was among the Apple store's top Chinese apps of 2015

Yu also says that high-resolution images of 100 artifacts in the museum have gone online on Google Arts & Culture - which features virtual artwork collections from around the world.

In 2014, after releasing a series of mobile apps, Shan Jixiang, director of the museum, said the institution planned to build a comprehensive digital community with in three years.

He says that The Palace Museum Community is a crucial step to fulfilling that goal.

"When those previous products have hooked many fans, I hope the new community will gather them together," he says.

Shan believes digitization is a way to expose more treasures to the public. Therefore, the museum opened a digital exhibition hall in its Duanmen Gallery last year.

Shan says a major digital exhibition of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the residence of the last eight Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) emperors, will begin soon in the virtual gallery. The hall itself is now closed due to a renovation project expected to last until 2020.

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(China Daily European Weekly 05/26/2017 page22)