TIANJIN — Visitors to the digital center in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city Science Park are greeted by digital humans speaking multiple languages, offering an immersive experience that showcases the heritage and cultural narratives of Tianjin’s time-honored products. The center uses cutting-edge technology to engage visitors with the region’s rich intangible cultural heritage, century-old brands, and creative cultural products, all while providing a futuristic digital experience.
In the exhibition hall, virtual reality (VR) glasses transport visitors to a virtual realm where they can explore cultural treasures from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and beyond. The center also hosts the Tianjin Digital Trade Global Promotion Platform, which began trial operations in July 2023. The newly launched 2.0 version of the platform enables cultural and commercial exchange between key areas like Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and global markets.
As an innovation hub for the digital services industry, the center has attracted over 100 digital enterprises in the past year. The platform leverages AI and big data to intelligently match market information, helping businesses expand domestically and internationally. “The platform significantly reduces market expansion costs and improves cooperation efficiency,” said Li Huarong, account director at the BlueFocus (Tianjin) Digital Service Industry Promotion Center.
This initiative has also supported the global success of China’s first 3A game, Black Myth: Wukong, and helped promote domestic cultural products worldwide. SNK Technology, using the digital platform, provided marketing services to related game companies.
Visitors can also explore interactive experiences in the center’s VR space, where wearable equipment allows them to immerse themselves in virtual worlds of games and films. Many of these productions, such as Monkey King: Hero is Back and Nezha, were created by Tianjin’s Mdog Animation Studio, which has gained international recognition for its animated films and Chinese-style game productions. “Our advanced technology and workflows have allowed us to introduce Chinese culture abroad,” said Li Ning, co-founder of Mdog Animation Studio.
In addition to animation, the digital trade platform supports cultural exports across five industries: film and television, animation, book publishing, esports, and advertising. As China’s only national-level cultural export base, the Tianjin Eco-city continues to attract renowned domestic enterprises, helping them digitally empower their cultural exports.
“We will continue to support cultural export enterprises through technology, platform development, and content production to help global audiences better understand Chinese culture,” said Wang Lei, from the eco-city’s cultural export base.
By the end of 2023, over 2,500 enterprises in the eco-city were focused on cultural exports, contributing to digital culture exports valued at approximately $39 million. This digital infrastructure is driving China’s cultural products and “China-chic” brands toward the global stage, positioning Tianjin as a key player in China’s growing digital cultural export market.