China's largest professional video game museum officially opened to the public in Shanghai on Friday, vividly presenting the history of the industry.
Covering an area of 2,000 square meters in Shanghai's downtown Xuhui district, the Video Game Museum of CADPA (China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association) collects more than 5,000 pieces of game-related exhibits such as game consoles, personal computers, game software, game books and periodicals.
The exhibits are on display across four major sections, which respectively introduce the early situation of electronic games, the blossoming of console games, the development of computer games, and the chronicle of Chinese video games.
The retro decoration and setting bring visitors some nostalgic feeling of childhood summers playing games with friends.
"I feel like I'd been traveling back to my childhood, being in a 'time tunnel,'" said Shen Yang, a visitor.
One of the highlights at the museum is the world's first commercial home video game console Magnavox Odyssey that was released in the United States in September 1972 and overseas the following year.
The Odyssey consists of a white, black, and brown box that connects to a television set, with two rectangular controllers attached by wires.
"This is the first home video game console that was produced in 1972. Players need to put these transparent overlays on the family television and then connect the console to the television to play it," said Weng Xin, the curator of the museum.
The museum also features 20 interactive areas where visitors can not only enjoy classic video games on early arcade machines, home consoles, and handheld devices, but also play recent hits such as the newly released "Black Myth: Wukong" with state-of-the-art equipment.
"We hope to restore the history of games through physical objects, so that visitors can see the inseparable relationship between games and technology, culture and history in the development process. The game industry benefits from the nourishment of history and culture, and at the same time pushes forward technological progress," said Zhou Wei, manager of the museum.
China’s largest video game museum opens to public
A local villager has captured rare footage of a wild giant panda roaming freely on a hillside in southwest China's Sichuan Province, with the creature spotted strolling by a nearby building.
In the clip shot by a local resident in Pingwu County of Mianyang City on May 8, the wild giant panda appears to be quietly going about its business as it slowly climbs a hillside with a calm and unhurried gait.
Many netizens raised questions after seeing the footage online, prompting an expert to share insights about the panda and offer some safety precautions.
Tu Zhengbin, deputy head of the Wildlife Protection Section of Forestry and Grassland Bureau in Pingwu County, explained why the panda is likely to have appeared at this location and detailed its physical condition.
"From the video, there is a reservoir nearby. It may have come down to drink some water. Based on the panda's size and its fur, we can basically determine that it is an adult giant panda. Moreover, you can see that the panda is walking rather briskly, indicating that it is in quite good health," said Tu.
Pingwu is one of the areas with the highest concentration of wild giant pandas in China, with more than 52 percent of the county's land area being designated as part of the Giant Panda National Park.
In recent years, local authorities have continued to capture numerous images of wild giant pandas using unobtrusive scientific monitoring methods such as infrared cameras.
The frequency of wild giant pandas coming down from the mountains and wandering into human-inhabited areas has also notably increased.
With this in mind, Tu also emphasized that proper safety measures should be taken when encountering a wild giant panda.
"If we encounter a giant panda in the wild, the first thing to do is to stay away from it. The second is to not make any loud noises. This way, we can both protect the giant panda and ensure our own safety," he said.
The number of wild giant pandas in China has risen from around 1,100 in the 1980s to nearly 1,900 today, with the steady increase being largely down to the comprehensive conservation efforts undertaken in recent years.
Rare sighting as wild giant panda spotted strolling on hillside in southwest China
