Walk into a time machine

Beijing Design Week is allowing visitors this year to explore exhibitions and events in the city's Dashilar area through interactive experiences by applying advanced technology such as virtual reality. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The exhibition on the theme "Renewing the city, empowering its future" comprises five parts－Interactive city renewal, Experience Dashilar with data, Guang'an City Renewal Exhibition, Impression Courtyard and Moveable Feast in Virtual Reality－Dashilar VR Zone.

The VR show puts the audience in a 3-D space, with a sand table presenting the historical and current appearance of Beijing FUN and showing the construction by floors.

The VR show is designed by Noitom Ltd using Project Alice which is a scalable commercial VR solution for multi-users with physical props and motion capture developed by Noitom.

Speaking about the event, Wang Junyi, the leader of project Beijing FUN from Noitom, says: "In the VR show, you will see a short video on the history of the Beijing FUN area on an IMAX screen and then the sand table where you can walk around and interact with other people in the show.

"You will experience immersive virtual reality without any delay."

Each building on the sand table whether from the past or the present can be selected and brought to the audience with a scroll to learn detailed information about the building.

"Noitom has worked with many projects and industries, but this is the first time we have combined VR with traditional art," says Wang.

In the Interactive city renewal part of the exhibition, a large screen on the floor demonstrates the renewal process of Dashilar.

Guo Qingmin, the city renewal project manager of Beijing Dashilar-Liulichang Culture Development, says: "The audience can walk on the screen of the digital sand table. When you step on the trigger point of each building, the background and history of the building will pop up in both English and Chinese.

"And when you leave the spot, the information will automatically disappear," says Guo.

The other parts of the exhibition use different multimedia tools such as touch screens and recorded audio.

Contact the writer at liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn