Pixels of History

Pixels of History

• Source: Global Times
• [08:44 March 18 2011]
• Comments

Digital rendition of the Wanfang Anhe complex in Yuanmingyuan Park Photo: Courtesy of Re-relic Project of Beijing Tsinghua Urban Planning & Design Institute

By Yan Shuang

A virtual tour of the Old Summer Palace in its original form is now available online, the result of a two-year project by a Tsinghua University design team which digitally recreated the site for cyberspace.

Based on historical records, photographs and architectural drawings, the team from the Beijing Tsinghua Urban Planning & Design Institute has been working on the project since its launch in April 2009.

Currently the digital project, released on re-relic.com, covers 24 of the planned 108 sites of the Old Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan, featuring short 3D fly-throughs complete with audio introductions.

All in the details

"The project is a digital reconstruction using archived Yuanmingyuan materials, which enables the public to get a feel for the palace in its original form. We also hope to see such digital rendering used in the future protection of other cultural heritage sites," Yin Lina, Re-relic team member and senior architect with the institute's Department of Architecture and Urban Heritage, told the Global Times.

The rendering even reflects research conducted into the landscaping and kinds of plants that surrounded the palace, according to Yin.

"We referenced historical records, landscaping documentation and even the poems written by emperors," said Wu Xiangyan, the team's landscaping expert and professor with the School of Architecture of China Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Yuanmingyuan contained at least 600 to 700 types of trees and plants, details which can take the team as long as a month to render for a single site, according to Wu.

The 4th dimension

The team invited those interested to experience the tour's 4D version at the Tsinghua Urban Planning & Design Institute in Haidian district on March 12.

"The 4D tour features a 'time axis,' so visitors can learn about the history of a site and see the changes it underwent over time with just a click," Yin said.

The 4D tour is not yet available online, she explained, since it requires massive amounts of data.

Though more people showed interest in the project than expected, difficulties in collecting research material, technical problems and lack of manpower has slowed down the project.

"Museums and libraries in China have provided us with some archives and photographs, and some foreign museums, such as the Library of Congress in Washington DC generously offered their help for free," said Yin.

"But it's difficult to gather all materials needed, as some [private collections] refused to help, or would provide archives for research purposes only and not for publication," she added.