Xizang Story: Technology Brings Xizang's Ancient Treasures to Life

　2025-10-31

LHASA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) — At a thangka art exhibition in the Xizang Museum, a digital painting device became a favorite among visitors. With just a few strokes — drawing lines, picking colors and blending shading on a screen — they could craft their own thangka pieces.

"I downloaded my work and set it as my phone wallpaper," said Zeng Hui, a visitor from southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The device captures the Xizang Museum's efforts to breathe new life into the region's ancient art. As the national first-class museum in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, it is embracing technology to make traditional culture both tangible and inspiring for modern audiences.

"Thangka is a flat, static art form," said Samdron, a staff member at the museum's exhibition department. "We want to make it more lifelike and vivid through multimedia and interactive technology."

In addition to the digital painting device, the exhibition also features other creative displays, including dynamic mural technology that brings ancient wall paintings to life through light and shadow effects.

"In the past, exhibition setup relied entirely on manual work, from scenery and lighting to text panels. Now, with digital modeling, intelligent control systems and precise lighting simulation, each exhibit can be presented more accurately and vividly," said Sonamtso, who has worked in exhibition design at the museum for over five years.

Technology is also transforming the preservation and restoration of cultural relics.

During preparations for the thangka exhibition, the museum's restoration team carried out maintenance work on several artworks. "Thangka paintings often suffer from smoke stains, wrinkles and discoloration. Some even feature inscriptions or patterns on the back, which further increase the complexity of restoration," said Jiang Jiali, head of the restoration team and director of the museum's center for scientific conservation of cultural relics.

"The restoration of cultural relics follows the principles of preserving their original appearance and ensuring minimal intervention," Jiang added. "We combine traditional craftsmanship with modern techniques to retain their sense of history rather than make them look new."

In 2014, a key scientific research base under the National Cultural Heritage Administration was established at the museum, marking a new phase of systematic and technology-driven cultural heritage preservation in Xizang.

The museum also adopts long-term preventive conservation measures. A 24-hour monitoring system tracks temperature, humidity and lighting in real time, while valuable artifacts are stored in custom-designed cases that protect them from shock, light and dust.

"Letting cultural relics breathe quietly in a suitable environment is our goal for preservation," Jiang said.

Technology has also fostered creativity in cultural products. Before the end of the National Day holiday earlier this month, a product inspired by the headdress from the museum's treasured flying apsaras costume had sold out. The flying apsaras costume is a signature Burang costume, which was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item in 2008 and dating back over a thousand years.

The souvenir integrates augmented reality technology. By scanning a QR code on the packaging, visitors can virtually wear the headdress through their phones and experience a seamless blend of history and innovation.

During the holiday, the Xizang Museum stayed open for eight consecutive days, welcoming over 39,000 visitors, a 30 percent year-on-year increase. Sales of cultural and creative products exceeded 790,000 yuan (about 111,514 U.S. dollars), up 91 percent from the previous year.

(Source: Xinhua)

Editor: Wang Shasha

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