Chongqing - An innovative reimagining of the Forbidden City came alive on July 31, as the immersive art exhibition "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" launched at Chongqing's Lijia Smart Park. 

This digital, live-action experience is set to run until late February 2024, offering a vivid reenactment of life in Bianjing during the Northern Song Dynasty.

Part of the giant dynamic scroll "Along the River During the Qingming Festival." (Photo/ Chongqing Liangjiang New Area)

Phoenix Television's Phoenix Digital and the Forbidden City Publishing House, the exhibit's creators, drew inspiration from "Qingming Shanghe Tu" (Along the River During the Qingming Festival). This celebrated handscroll painting, attributed to the Song Dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan, is preserved in Beijing's Palace Museum.

Children are playing and interacting with the giant dynamic painting scrolls. (Photo/ Chongqing Liangjiang New Area)

The exhibition seeks to immerse audiences in the Song Dynasty era, portraying daily life with a mix of virtual scenes and live performances. It features a high-definition dynamic projection display, an immersive theater called the "Sunyang Old Store," and the "Bianhe Harbor" CAVE Cinema. Additionally, it presents cultural exhibition areas, inviting guests to perceive the artwork from different angles and immerse themselves in its world.

The "Sunyang Old Store" immersive theater recreates the vivid scene in the Song Dynasty. (Photo/ Chongqing Liangjiang New Area)

The "Sunyang Old Store" immersive theater uses holographic techniques to bring a bustling scene from the Song Dynasty to life: horses rest under willow trees, and lively restaurants welcome spring's arrival. Enhanced with song and atmospheric lighting, this theater offers a unique, dynamic experience that reflects the ambiance of the Song Dynasty.

Visitors are offered a unique opportunity to partake in a boat-taking experience within the immersive CAVE Cinema. (Photo/ Chongqing Liangjiang New Area)

Moreover, the immersive CAVE Cinema offers an unforgettable boat journey along the Bianhe River. Here, visitors can appreciate the view of willows dancing in the wind, travel from daylight to dusk, and experience the city's enchanting night lights. This cinematic adventure transforms the painting into a dynamic, three-dimensional spectacle, granting visitors a firsthand experience of the artwork.

In an innovative twist, the creators have selected 100 characters from the original painting's 814, using facial recognition, photography, and AI Face-Exchange Technology. This feature allows visitors to become a part of the painting, merging their faces with the chosen characters for an in-depth immersion into the world of the artwork.

(Yang Yuanchun, as an intern, also contributed to this report)