Cultural heritage is no longer locked behind glass or crumbling stone. In 2026, it lives in data, screens, and immersive experiences. The intersection of advanced digital technology and cultural tourism has become a critical driver of social cohesion, economic resilience, and national identity. For the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, using technology to preserve and interpret cultural assets is not just a technical upgrade; it is a strategic national imperative.
This shift aligns directly with the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), which prioritizes high-quality cultural development, integration of the digital economy, and the preservation of national memory. By deploying artificial intelligence, 3D laser scanning, and extended reality, the mainland and the SAR are building a sustainable model for cultural tourism that safeguards living history, resurrects lost architectural masterpieces, and powers a tech-enabled digital society.
The 15th Five-Year Plan marks a turning point in how the nation values cultural resources, moving past infrastructure-driven tourism toward structural sustainability, data-driven preservation, and global cultural influence. Under the plan, digitizing heritage sites is a vital component of national cultural security. Natural disasters, urban development, and climate change threaten physical sites, so high-fidelity 3D scanning, drone photogrammetry, and AI-powered “digital twins” act as digital insurance. If a physical asset is compromised, its exact digital replica remains archived in cloud repositories. In 2026, this is evident in the digitization of the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan province, and the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Gansu province, where multispectral imaging preserves fragile murals without physical decay.
Beyond physical preservation, the plan also seeks to strengthen cultural confidence, especially among the younger generation, by making heritage part of everyday digital life. Digital interpretation transforms dry academic data into interactive, gamified experiences that foster national pride and historical literacy. When young people interact with an AI avatar of a Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet or explore the Forbidden City in immersive virtual reality, history becomes relatable, accessible, relevant, and engaging. This approach ensures that cultural memory is not only saved but also actively lived and shared.
As the mainland pursues large-scale preservation, Hong Kong occupies a critical position within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, leveraging “one country, two systems” to act as an international window for Chinese culture and a sandbox for innovation. Hong Kong is a regional hub for art tech — the fusion of art and technology. Local studios build sophisticated storytelling tools
Rapid urban modernization has often clashed with heritage preservation, and the 15th Five-Year Plan addresses past destructive demolitions of historic architecture by using technology to resurrect lost architectural icons. The Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan), destroyed in 1860 by foreign invaders, remains a protected landscape of ruins, with physical rebuilding controversial. Instead, the Digital Yuanmingyuan project uses imperial archives and old photographs to create hyperdetailed virtual 3D models. Tourists at the ruins can use augmented reality (AR) glasses to see lost pavilions layered over surviving stone foundations, reviving memory without disrupting archaeological integrity. Once a medieval wonder, the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing in Jiangsu province was destroyed in the 19th century. Nanjing’s Porcelain Tower Heritage Park avoids the creation of an inaccurate timber copy. Instead, a modern steel-and-glass structure stands over the archaeological footprint, with LED screens and projections re-creating the holographic illusion of the glowing tower — using tech to revive its spirit. Past bulldozing of historic hutong and vernacular neighborhoods is now recognized as a severe cultural loss, and the plan shifts priorities from demolition toward preventative digital documentation. Before any old urban district modernizes, it must first be preserved as an immutable digital twin, securing historical memory in the national cloud archive.
As the mainland pursues large-scale preservation, Hong Kong occupies a critical position within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, leveraging “one country, two systems” to act as an international window for Chinese culture and a sandbox for innovation. Hong Kong is a regional hub for art tech — the fusion of art and technology. Local studios build sophisticated storytelling tools. The Hong Kong Palace Museum uses interactive multimedia to contextualize ancient artifacts for international audiences. The City in Time initiative uses AR to turn city streets into living history museums, offering 360-degree historical views.
Hong Kong can expand beyond local showcases to become the global megaphone for the mainland’s digital heritage projects. Hong Kong’s legal and financial systems can handle the international copyrighting, franchising, and licensing of mainland digital assets, enabling global museums, gaming companies, and tech firms to integrate the country’s digital twins. Hong Kong galleries can host world-exclusive premieres of full-scale VR experiences from Dunhuang, Xi’an in Shaanxi province, and Nanjing, drawing international travelers who cannot easily visit remote sites on the mainland. A Greater Bay Area tech-heritage corridor can be established, in which Hong Kong’s international user interface/user experience designers and creative writers collaborate with Shenzhen’s hardware giants and the Dunhuang Academy to develop globally accessible apps and software.
This is where heritage becomes more than preservation. It fuels a regional development strategy that enhances job creation, tourism, education, and cultural identity. For society, it strengthens public engagement with history. For business, it creates new products and services. For Hong Kong, it reinforces its role as a bridge between the mainland and the broader world. Digital heritage is where culture meets modernity and shines. It protects what is valuable, explains what is meaningful, and creates what is economically useful. This combination is not optional — it is essentially the way forward in preserving and promoting our heritage.
The author is vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Interactive Marketing and an adviser to the Film and TV School at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
