Tencent summit explores the blending of cultural tradition and technology

The 3rd Tengyun Summit, held by the Tencent Center for Society on Nov 25 in Beijing, brought together more than 800 participants, including 50 experts from various cultural fields, to share opinions on topics related to “culture of our own age”.

The summit, held annually since 2016, aims to promote exchanges between the Internet industry and academia.

At the main forum, Cheng Wu, vice-president of Tencent group, and Wang Xudong, director of Dunhuang Academy, carried out a discussion on how to blend technology and cultural traditions.

"The purpose of digital-assisted protection and inheritance is not to save the traditional culture, but to let it bloom again in the digital era. Digital technology is not only a tool to represent it, but also a way to create new culture,” said Cheng, who shared Tencent’s experience of taking advantage of digital technology to promote cultural tradition.

The “digital providers” plan, initiated in June by Dunhuang Academy and Tencent, has been one of the successful examples of this effort, he said.

It aims to use the Internet to engage the public in the protection of cultural relics and get people closer to China’s cultural traditions.

Through watching creative videos, the plan’s online interaction section allows Internet users to learn about the Buddhist providers’ culture in Dunhuang’s history. At the end, the viewers receive “witty tips” inspired by stories from Dunhuang’s mural paintings, but in illustrated scenarios and language familiar to modern people.

The online interaction section successfully drew more than two million users in two hours of going live.

During their conversation, Cheng and Wang also imagined the development of a cultural creative industry related to Dunhuang.

Both believe that, through the use of digital technology, in the next twenty years people will be able to appreciate the whole picture of Dunhuang and be involved in the innovation of Dunhuang culture without having to leave home.

Four sub-forums, carried out in the form of open interactive discussions, covered topics including Dunhuang culture and art, animation, life of the young generation, as well as the Internet experience for seniors.

In addition, this year’s summit also focused on audience engagement and interaction. Many participants experienced games inspired by cultural traditions at the event’s interaction zone.