At the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, the Dunhuang Academy has launched an immersive exhibition.

Wearing VR headsets, visitors can step into a realistic yet dreamy Dunhuang world, experiencing novelties such as dancing with flying celestial beings.

As the first interactive cultural knowledge project of the Digital Resource Library of Digital Dunhuang, the exhibition focuses on Cave 285, the earliest Mogao cave with a clear construction date.

Han Xue, a member of the Dunhuang Academy's digital protection team, stated that the team aims to both protect and showcase the cave's beauty.

A key feature of the exhibition is an enhanced and detailed experience. Many details easily missed in traditional tours can be closely observed through digital restoration. In the digital visual design, the team's principle is not to modify Dunhuang with modern aesthetics but to guide visitors to understand the real Dunhuang.

Han added that transforming Dunhuang art's patterns, colors, and artistic conception into a visually aesthetic language helps connect Dunhuang art with contemporary forms of communication. Young people are first attracted by the art's beauty, then willing to explore the cave's history and culture, helping revive Dunhuang's ancient heritage in the digital age.

After the VR experience, using AI cutout and virtual tracking technologies, visitors can record a real-time video of themselves interacting with the virtual cave scene in a virtual studio. Many book online, read up on background information, and share AR photos on social media.

Since its launch in September 2023, the immersive exhibition has attracted over 80,000 participants.

Future efforts will focus on high-dimensional restoration, dynamic interpretation, multi-sensory engagement, and intelligent innovation, with the goal of transforming the experience of Dunhuang art from passive viewing to active understanding, participation, and co-creation.