Multimedia Programs of Qin Dynasty Exhibition in HK to Bring Unique Experience to Visitors

Hong Kong is to produce its first mega exhibition combining history and technology -- "The Majesty of All Under Heaven: The Eternal Realm of China’s First Emperor", which will tie-in with the exhibition, enhancing its educational aspects while also making it a fun experience for visitors, a city government official said Thursday.

The exhibition, at a cost of 10 million HK dollars (1.3 million U.S. dollars), will use cutting edge technology to produce six innovative multimedia programs. It will be held by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong government.

Leisure and Cultural Services Director Betty Fung told reporters that 120 valuable relics have been brought to Hong Kong for the exhibition.

Experts from the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center, Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum and the Fengxiang County Museum, Baoji City, along with the curatorial team of the Hong Kong Museum of History, have begun the work of mounting the relics.

Qinshihuang was the First Emperor of Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC), who unified China for the first time in history.

Running from July 25 to November 26 at the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Qin Dynasty exhibition will be the largest thematic exhibition the museum has undertaken.

Occupying an area of 1,850 square meters, the exhibition is divided into two sections -- the Multimedia Experience Zone and the Cultural Relics Display Zone. The Multimedia Experience Zone occupies an area of 850 square meters.

Fung said the Hong Kong Museum of History had spent more than a year developing the design concepts of the six multimedia programs for the exhibition.

Comprising "The Qin and their Horses", "Discovery of the Underground Kingdom", "True Colors of the Terra-cotta Warriors", " Secrets of the Terra-cotta Army", "Journey into the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang" and "Terra-cotta Warrior Workshop", the multimedia programs take a light approach in explaining the deep-rooted history, culture and stories behind the terra-cotta figures.

Fung said this large-scale multimedia production is characterized by three main features -- a breakthrough in the application of technology, an enhancement in exhibition contents and interaction, and close observation of historical research and archaeological information.

"Journey into the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang" represents one of the production highlights, with highly impressive visual and audio effects. Making use of 32 projectors to create a seamless screen by geometric correction, this program produces a spectacular panoramic projection of the Qin terra-cotta army with a viewing resolution greater than 6000 x 4600 pixels, equaling the standard in IMAX cinemas and giving visitors a genuine impression of time travel.

Fung said that stepping into the mega panoramic projection will give visitors the "virtual" experience of traveling back 2,200 years in time, where they will find themselves at the foot of Mount Li and the Mausoleum of Qinshihuang, and enabling them to witness the construction of the terra-cotta army pits, as well as its destruction, discovery and restoration.

"Especially noteworthy is the application for the first time in Hong Kong and in museums locally of the huge seamless projection image that can provide a surrounding projection effect," she said.

Differing from previous exhibitions on the Qin terra-cotta army that focused mainly on the historical significance of the relics, she said the current exhibition uses multimedia technology to provide a vivid and more comprehensive presentation of the history of the Qin from its rise to the establishment of a united empire.

The exhibition is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, and co-organised by the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center.

It is one of the highlight programs celebrating the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The Hong Kong Museum of History is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10: 30 p.m., with 17 scheduled viewing sessions. Each session will last one and a half hours and accommodate 230 visitors.

Admission to the exhibition is 10 HK dollars per session for all visitors. Children under 4 years old are entitled to free admission when accompanied by an adult.