A whole host of cutting-edge technologies have been integrated into various festive scenarios across China during the ongoing Spring Festival, infusing the country's biggest annual holiday with a wave of high-tech innovations as people head out to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Horse.
The Spring Festival, which centers around the Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional holiday for the Chinese people, and a time where millions head back to their hometowns for family reunions or travel on to popular tourist destinations.
During the festive season, the stunning Laojun Mountain scenic spot in Luoyang City of central China's Henan Province, which sits over 2,200 meters above sea level, has been coated in a light layer of snow and is welcoming many visitors.
This year, thousands of drones fitted with low-temperature protection equipment and upgraded wind-resistant flight algorithms successfully performed a horse-themed festive formation display against the backdrop of the snow-capped peaks, delighting tourists.
"These traditional performances combined with tech-driven displays really capture the festive spirit. I'm thoroughly enjoying it," said Zhao Xintong, a tourist from east China's Anhui Province.
During this year's Spring Festival, over 20 cities across China have launched drone light shows. Additionally, traditional tourist attractions up and down the country have intensified technological enhancements in various ways as they look to entice more visitors.
At a dinosaur-themed amusement park in Changzhou City of east China's Jiangsu Province, giant AI-powered dinosaur lanterns are interacting and even conversing with visitors.
In the picturesque water town of Wuzhen in east China's Zhejiang Province, an inaugural AI light show is able to map out visitors' body movements into real-time, futuristic fluid patterns on screen, allowing guests to experience the novelty of technological innovations which are being added to the millennia-old cultural heritage of the town.
Meanwhile, amid the ongoing tech boom, robot rental orders have surged during the holiday, with some locations even facing shortages.
Intelligent robots are now ubiquitous across a diverse range of consumer settings from commercial complexes to restaurants, supermarkets, and tourist attractions.
At a large shopping mall in Shanghai, robots equipped with the latest voice interaction and smart navigation systems offer personalized shopping assistance, accompanying customers throughout their New Year's shopping, and helping with self-checkout services.
"The integration of robots into daily life embodies the power of technology, bringing many delightful surprises," said Cai Zijun, a consumer.
Major AI models have also rolled out updates with Spring Festival-exclusive features: from generating personalized New Year greetings and customizing family portraits to booking reunion banquets and purchasing travel tickets, delivering cross-platform and one-stop services.
In the week leading up to the Spring Festival, the number of active daily users of major AI models nationwide reached nearly 200 million, highlighting how people across China are increasingly turning to these AI platforms for everyday queries.
High-tech innovations help upgrade Spring Festival celebrations across China
