A delegation of global media leaders and social media influencers has arrived in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to explore how the city is bridging the gap between its ancient heritage and a high-tech future.
More than 30 journalists from Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America began their trip by visiting Chongqing's UNESCO World Heritage Dazu Rock Carvings. To bring these ancient relics to life, the delegation first experienced a 360-degree "dome film." This immersive cinematic experience reconstructs the thousand-year history of the carvings and reveals the delicate, high-tech restoration work underway to preserve them.
"I've been really struck by how you combine tech, high quality tech experiences with the preservation of actual artifacts from so long ago. Watching all of these statues in that movie, everywhere you look there's great detail. It made it a century, a fully century experience, so it actually made me a little bit emotional," said Soyini Grey from Guardian Media Group in Trinidad and Tobago.
That emotional connection came alive as the journalists stepped out of the theater and stood face-to-face with the actual cliffside carvings.
"It's very revolutionary because as we saw first in the movie, it looked gigantic, it looked amazing and it was the same energy when we came here but it was twice better. This place with a lot of history, with a lot of cultural heritage that can pass to everyone to show how amazing China (it) is," said Borjon Borakaj from VizionPlus TV in Albania.
The delegation next ventured into western China's largest all-in-one virtual filming studio in Yongchuan District. Here, history made way for futuristic imagination. The journalists witnessed real-time film production, where AI-powered technology enables instant scene-switching and the seamless integration of real actors into virtual environments.
"The studio is awesome because it's so big, it has modern technology, and that permits evolution of the cinema. It's a great thing, because Chongqing combines technology and history, and it is so attractive for the tourists," said Jennifer Carolina Ruiz Villalba from Ecuador's Oromar TV.
"The technology is amazing, very impressive. They use some AI, that's the most advanced, so the mix of human action and AI, I think, is great," said Emilio Jose Gomez Chavez from LTV of Honduras.
Through the eyes of these journalists, Chongqing offers a window into China's high-quality development. By integrating cutting-edge tech into cultural heritage and film industries, the city is showing how smart technology is powering industrial upgrading and a future-ready Chinese economy.
Global media explore Chongqing's cultural heritage, tech innovation
