China's first domestically-built large cruise ship, the Adora Magic City, finished its commercial maiden voyage on Jan 7, with a range of services offered on it promoting the culture of Dunhuang, an important crossroad of the ancient Silk Road.

China's first domestically made large cruise ship Adora Magic City is delivered in Shanghai on Nov 4, 2023. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Experts from the Dunhuang Academy gave four lectures to more than 3,000 passengers, demonstrating Dunhuang's grotto art, clothing, historical stories and religious culture, as the ship set off from the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal on Jan 1.

Passengers listen to Dunhuang stories during the inaugural voyage of the Adora Magic City cruise ship from Jan 1 to 7. [Photo by He Baoxin for chinanews.com]

Also, the cultural tour introduced a digital exhibition jointly organized by the cruise and the academy.

The 16 murals on display are reproduced using high-fidelity technology under the auspices of the "Digital Dunhuang" project. Throughout the trip, passengers could freely appreciate the details of the murals.

On Nov 4 last year, Fan Jinshi, a renowned Chinese archaeologist and honorary president of the Dunhuang Academy, who is also dubbed "daughter of Dunhuang", was invited to serve as the sailing ambassador at the cruise’s naming and delivery ceremony.

"Adora Magic City is a pearl of modern cruise technology as well as an ambassador in itself, able to take Chinese fine culture global," said Fan.