Shanxi Digital Human Timeline

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Shanxi Province is actively integrating digital human technologies into various sectors including culture, tourism, government services, education, and media. Notable initiatives include the launch of ultra-realistic virtual humans such as “Qingniao” and “Hua Mulan,” developed using AI, motion capture, and virtual reality to promote local heritage and tourism. Qingniao serves as a digital cultural ambassador, while the Hua Mulan digital figure was co-developed by Datong and Zhonghua Book Company as a symbol of regional identity. The province has also deployed AI-powered digital humans in government service centers to improve public engagement and efficiency. Companies like Shiyou Technology and YuanYuan Technology are involved in building interactive platforms and publishing tools that feature digital humans. Other applications include immersive red tourism exhibits, digital museums, smart scenic spots, and educational tools using digital humans.

The provincial capital Taiyuan is actively advancing its digital human ecosystem across multiple sectors. The city hosted the 2024 AI Digital Human Development Forum and other major events to promote integration of artificial intelligence with new forms of productivity. Dozens of local companies, including startups and established firms, are developing digital human technologies such as real-time avatars, AI-powered customer service systems, and immersive virtual experiences. Notable innovations include AI digital human displays in the Taiyuan Library, interactive museum and tourism guides, virtual legal and education assistants, and applications in e-commerce livestreaming and cultural heritage. The ultra-realistic virtual human “Qingniao” was launched as Shanxi’s first digital tourism ambassador. Across government, academia, media, and industry, Taiyuan is embedding digital humans in services ranging from reading promotion and financial education to healthcare, transport, and red tourism.

In January 2025, Datong, Shanxi unveiled a hyper-realistic 3D digital human of Hua Mulan as a city image IP, developed with Zhonghua Book Company and Gulián (Beijing) Digital Media Tech after 2024 agreements with local publicity authorities and Datong Daily Media Group. Built on Unreal Engine and powered by AI technologies including NLP, ASR, TTS, large language models, computer vision, and knowledge graphs, the avatar supports full-chain interactive communication with 98% lip-sync accuracy. Positioned as both a cultural heritage symbol and tourism driver, Mulan was showcased in armor before the Yungang Grottoes and promoted through nationwide coverage, campus roadshows, and campaigns like the “Mulan Cup,” with reports of tens of millions of users engaged and ~5 million online views by mid-2025. This initiative follows Datong’s earlier 2024 collaboration with JD Cloud’s Yanxi platform, which produced a bilingual service-oriented digital Mulan for cultural tourism, highlighting a dual strategy of creating both a promotional cultural IP and practical tourism assistant.