Beijing Mayor Chen Jining (3rd, L) visited the Shougang Industrial Park on Aug 18. [Photo/thholdings.com.cn]

Chen Jining, mayor of Beijing, offered suggestions on homegrown innovative digital cultural products when he visited the Shougang Industrial Park on Aug 18.

.During his visit, Yuan Xin, chairman of the Re-relic, a subsidiary company of Tsinghua Holdings, and He Yan, president of the firm, outlined an innovative model of the exhibition center integrating investment, design, construction, management and operation. The center was designed and constructed from the industrial heritage.

According to them, this innovative model is expected to be used at the Bell and Drum Towers in Beijing, the Olympia site (Olympic origin site) in Greece, and also major events such as the Beijing Central Axis’s application for world heritage and the 2022 Winter Olympics.

During his tenure as president of Tsinghua University, Chen has attached great importance to the combination of cultural heritage protection and digital innovation.

He recalled the original intention of establishing Re-relic, and gave instructions on building the integrated cultural and technological ecosystem of the Shougang industrial park, developing its digital creative industry, and popularizing the "Digital Old Summer Palace" model and technology.

The combination of cultural heritage and digital technology meets the needs of cultural displays. Using cultural application scenarios to drive digital technology research and development can also promote the development of 5G plus 8K ultra-high-definition.

Chen experienced and appreciated the immersive digital performance featuring the Old Summer Palace, and learned more about related academic proceedings from Guo Daiheng, professor at the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University.

He noted that the Tsinghua campus and the ancient royal garden were once one in history, and the Old Summer Palace complex is rooted in all the alumni’s hearts.

In Chen’s view, it is good to transform scientific research results into cultural products used by the public. This can not only meet people's needs, but also foster a virtuous circle through socialized operations.

Continuous efforts are called on to accelerate the launch of high-quality cultural products that better reflect the characteristics of Beijing.