Virtual tours provide a unique insight

A livestreaming tour of the Potala Palace on March 9 gives viewers a chance to see its collection of Buddhist statues. XINHUA

HEFEI－Walking past traditional Chinese buildings with cream-colored walls topped with dark tiles, a golden sea of rapeseed flowers and lush green bamboo forests, Huang Min, 29, guided an audience of 90,000 on her phone.

The picturesque scenery in Xidi Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in East China's Anhui province, is a top springtime attraction for many Chinese people, and for Huang, a local tour guide, it is usually the busiest time of year.

This year, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the ancient village, like many other sites across the country, has been closed to visitors to avoid crowds and stop the contagious virus from spreading. However, institutions and tourism agencies are adopting virtual tours as a way to keep tourists engaged.

Eight of China's well-known museums including the National Museum of China and Dunhuang Research Academy, which oversees the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, launched online tours on Feb 23, which attracted over 10 million viewers.