Introduction to Mandarin’s House AR Mobile Application
The Mandarin’s House, a World Heritage site, has launched an augmented reality (AR) mobile application to diversify the presentation of its history and enrich the visiting experience. This progressive application allows residents and tourists to explore the history of the Mandarin’s House using their mobile phones by scanning a selected QR code or accessing the mini-application of the Cultural Affairs Bureau’s (IC) official WeChat account.
Exploring the AR Mobile Application
With the aim of repeatedly promoting the usage of digital cultural heritage resources, the IC launched online virtual reality (VR) tours of the Guia Fortress and the Mandarin’s House in November 2021. The recent AR mobile application for the Mandarin’s House allows visitors to explore different AR interactive scenarios that mix reality and virtual technologies through their mobile phones. The application uses virtual technologies to present the compilation of Zheng Guanying’s masterpiece "Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity" and past scenes of "The House of 72 Tenants". Animated videos in regards to the Mandarin’s House from different periods are also made available.
Features of the Application
The application incorporates a map with a navigation function and provides guide tours in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, and English, which facilitates visitors to follow along. Moreover, to boost public interest and unique visiting experience, there may be also a mini-application on WeChat that features a treasure hunt game and quite a lot of photo scenes with computer graphics. This encourages visitors to explore every corner of the Mandarin’s House, offering visiting experience and enabling a deeper understanding of the World Heritage of Macao.
Promoting the AR Mobile Application
To promote this recent AR mobile application, residents and tourists who’ve successfully unlocked all the traditional scenes can redeem a present. The first ten visitors on every day who complete the tasks will probably be entitled to receive a present on the reception of the Mandarin’s House. Gifts can be found on a first-come, first-served basis, while stocks last. The IC will strictly follow the relevant guidelines of the Health Bureau and implement appropriate measures for cultural activities.
Conclusion
The Cultural Affairs Bureau has been actively promoting Macao’s cultural heritage with progressive technology in a diversified way. By integrating heritage buildings with AR interactive elements that appeal to young people, the IC has further promoted the cultural interest of the Mandarin’s House as a World Heritage Youth Education Base. This raises young people’s awareness about Macao’s history and Chinese culture, optimizing the visiting experience of residents and tourists by adding smart tour features. The IC will proceed to actively promote the mixing of cultural heritage resources with technologies, exploring recent technological applications for more cultural heritage attractions, to repeatedly enrich the promotional and academic dimensions of Macao’s cultural heritage and improve the integrated experience of cultural tourism.
