Smart innovation brings new life to Longmen

Updated: 2015-12-31

Surprise gifts are welcoming the visitors of Longmen Grottoes on the occasion of New Year. The scenic area in Luoyang, Henan province takes effort to promote its culture and tourism in creative ways.

These include a special WeChat sticker package, the Longmen sticker series and a pamphlet of the Buddhist scripture, Heart Sutra in calligraphy trace edition.

Longmen WeChat stickers

As the first "Internet Plus" smart scenic area- Longmen Grottoes is rebranding itself with the help of the Internet and cultural innovation.

While doing so, frequently seen cultural symbols of the grottoes, such as Losana Buddha, flying Apsaras and lion statues are designed into folksy stickers to make the culture relics more popular among citizens. Significantly, the pamphlet of the Buddhist text Heart Sutra is a copy of the scripture carved in the Middle Leigutai Cave. People will be able to learn the profound Buddhist culture and the charm of Chinese characters of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) by tracing the calligraphy in the pamphlet.

Longmen Heart Sutra pamphlet

These creative ideas come from efforts by the cultural innovation team of the scenic area. They have already promoted a coloring book with images of statues and murals from the grottoes and niches in Longmen.

The team was founded earlier this year with the support of Longmen Grottoes Scenic Area Management Committee to carry out the country's first "Internet Plus Cultural Creativity" program in the area.

Longmen Grottoes coloring book

The treasure house of ancient Buddhist cave art and an "Internet Plus" smart scenic area, cooperated by Internet giant Tencent, Longmen Grottoes strives to be a demonstration unit for cultural innovation nationwide.

Also, the team is incorporating more Longmen elements to its creative items. So far, online shopping websites and traditional shops are both adopted for better marketing.