Aurora museum opens in Heilongjiang

Residents and tourists couldn't help but admire the stunning aurora borealis in Mohe, Heilongjiang province, China's northernmost city on the evening of Nov 24.

The auroras, mainly colored pink and purple, ripple alternately across the night sky at high latitudes, attracting visitors and photographers along the banks of the frozen Heilongjiang River to capture the moment with their cameras.

However, when they entered the country's first aurora-themed museum in Mohe's Beiji village, which opened on Nov 19, they were even more shocked.

The museum, named Shenlu, meaning deer god, offers immersive experiences via virtual reality and augmented reality, scientific forecasts and aurora-themed souvenirs, allowing visitors to appreciate the magical beauty of auroras.

"I feel particularly amazed," said Xu Qingyue, a tourist from Shandong province.

"I hadn't heard of an aurora museum before, and when I arrived here, it felt incredibly high-tech.

"Even more fortunately, I saw the real aurora in Mohe, which was truly stunning," she added.

Auroras are caused by the Earth's natural electrical fields in the northern and southern hemispheres. The most famous is the aurora borealis, which appears in high-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Located at China's highest latitude, Mohe is one of the best places in the country to observe nature's light show.

Since winter began, the area has witnessed several aurora displays.

"The aurora museum, covering an area of 1,000 square meters, was completed in five months and has already welcomed 5,000 visitors in its first week," said its manager Yu Heng.

Upon entering the museum, visitors are greeted by a welcome video displayed on an LED screen, which loops through introductions to aurora knowledge and selected aurora video clips, quickly unlocking the mysterious charm of auroras.

In the interactive LED radar screen area, visitors can hover their palms a centimeter above the screen to trigger interactions.

"By moving their hands, they can watch the beautiful aurora effects spread and unfold with their gestures, creating a dreamlike light and shadow atmosphere where the beauty of the aurora and the fun of technology come together," said Yu.

"The screen allows up to five people to interact simultaneously."

In the multimedia photo wall experience area, images can be enlarged and accompanied by related text for easy interaction, allowing visitors to explore the natural and cultural charm of Mohe through touch.

The polar weather forecast area provides the latest weather and aurora prediction information for Beiji village, helping visitors plan the best time to view the auroras.

"We also offer eight VR digital realms, an AR object recognition table in the roaming display area and a VR classroom equipped with 16 VR headsets, offering unique educational modules in geography, physics, language, special education, science and history," said Yu. "We hope to provide a paperless learning experience, by breaking the traditional course structure and creating an immersive classroom environment."

zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn