The Xizang Museum in Lhasa City, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, is playing a vital role in telling the visitors the long history and colorful culture of the region.
The year 2025 marks the 60th founding anniversary of Xizang Autonomous Region, and Lhasa City has made meticulous preparations for celebrating the occasion.
The Xizang Museum is regarded by many people as a must-see when visiting Lhasa, tracing the history and culture of the autonomous region like making time pass before visitors' eyes.
The permanent exhibitions in the museum, "Snow Epic - Xizang History and Culture Exhibition" and "People Closest to the Sun - Xizang Folk Culture Exhibition," systematically explain the long history and brilliant civilization of Xizang, showcasing the folk customs, spiritual outlook, and aesthetic taste of the plateau's inhabitants.
The museum also offers three-dimensional representations of objects.
"The museum is incredible, it's simply impressive. There are so many things to see, and the local culture is very rich and magnificent. It would take me three days to visit this museum. It's very well presented. I didn't know much about the local Xizang culture. And I'm learning more every day. I just arrived, so I'm still open to absorbing a lot. And I can't wait to try butter tea and tsampa and all the good things about Xizang that make it so special," said Mark A. Sugarman, a foreign tourist.
In additional to the exhibitions, the Children's Experience Hall, the Cultural and Creative Experience Hall, and the 4D Cinema show the comprehensiveness of the museum as a modern public cultural service venue.
"In my opinion, the Xizang Museum introduces the public to its history and culture, as well as its development. I have lived here for 17 years, and I feel that the development speed of the Xizang Autonomous Region is very rapid, especially in recent years. Children are pursuing the education they deserve. Our lifestyle has changed, and life has become more convenient, which is a stark contrast to what it was before. In my opinion, Xizang has its own unique cultural charm. I hope more and more people from all over the world will come to discover the beauty of Xizang," said a local tour guide.
Xizang Museum enables visitors to discover region's history, culture
Artificial intelligence and robotics, both major topics of discussion at the ongoing Boao Forum this year, are also being widely adopted at the event as ways to improve the service inside and outside the venue.
The BFA Annual Conference 2026 is being held in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. Running from March 24 to 27, this year's conference is themed "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation."
A water generator at the venue cools and condenses moisture from the air into water, then filters and sterilizes it. It can also run on solar power for a completely off-grid, zero-carbon operation.
Meanwhile, a special robot barista operates a coffee stand where guests can order a drink with the press of a button, prompting the robotic arm to get to work -- grabbing a cup, brewing, and frothing -- all in one smooth motion.
The venue has also adopted an AI-based management system, which can automatically adjust a range of factors based on current conditions and detect and respond to anomalies when they occur.
These sorts of systems are already being adopted at a wider scale across Hainan.
"This is our operational management center for the zero-carbon demonstration zone. It’s powered by an AI-driven system that manages all energy consumption and carbon emissions. From here, we can remotely control over three thousand devices across the island with a click, including air conditioners and lighting. It's smart management, done remotely," said Zeng Youwen, chief general engineer of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design Hainan Branch.
Outside the venue, some smart equipment is also sharing the workload. On Boao's coastline, a beach-cleaning robot moves along the shore, sweeping up cigarette butts, debris, and coconut shells.
The robots can work before visitors arrive or after sunset, cleaning up to 3,000 square meters of beach per hour. In the water, a diving robot that clears debris and even has emergency rescue capabilities.
These on-site applications of emerging technologies have helped spur discussions at the forum on how the deep integration of technology and industry is gaining momentum as China enters the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
"Industries can only be upgraded by applying the new technologies, by applying AI, by applying other innovative technology, science and technology, there should all be injected into industries. And that's how the industries are going to produce high quality products. And you will have high quality productive forces that will change the lifestyle, the living standard of the Chinese people and the people living beyond," said Sohail Khan, deputy secretary-general of Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Founded in 2001, the BFA is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals.
Robots, AI facilitate guest services at Boao Forum venue
