Case Name: Inner Mongolia, China · Digital Protection and Utilization of Shierliancheng Ruins in Jungar Banner

Case Category: Technological Empowerment for Cultural Heritage Preservation

Case Location: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

Case Applicants: Jungar Banner Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department, Ordos Yixun Technology Co., Ltd.

Case Overview:

Case Description

Located in Shierliancheng Township, Jungar Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the ruins cover an area of approximately 1 million square meters with a total city wall length of 5,579 meters, spanning multiple dynasties including the Han, Sui, Tang, and Ming dynasties. As a practical implementation of the national cultural digitalization strategy, the project is undertaken by Ordos Yixun Technology Co., Ltd. It employs technologies such as high-precision surveying and mapping, laser scanning, UAV oblique photography, and VR to build millimeter-precision digital archives, reconstruct the style of the Sui Dynasty city site, and create an integrated digital platform integrating data management, online display, and immersive experience. By balancing the permanent protection of cultural relics, academic research, and public immersive experience, it empowers the permanent inheritance of cultural heritage and the integrated development of culture and tourism through technology.

Solutions and Innovation

Through digital innovation, this case systematically addresses multiple problems in cultural heritage protection and regional development:

The first problem is that traditional protection methods struggle to balance the long-term preservation of ruins and public experience needs. The project realizes "non-contact" protection of cultural relics through high-precision digital archiving and virtual restoration technologies, while building an interactive digital platform to meet the needs of academic research and public education. The second problem is the low collection efficiency and insufficient precision due to complex terrain and large-scale ruins. The project innovates a "space-air-ground integrated collection system", integrating UAV oblique photography, laser scanning and other technologies to form a full-element collection plan, increasing daily collection efficiency by more than threefold. The third problem is that the interpretation methods of cultural heritage are overly simplistic. Through VR scene reconstruction and digital human guide technology, the project transforms static ruins into dynamic historical scenes, allowing the public to immerse themselves in the thousand-year cultural context of Shierliancheng and addressing the challenge of dynamic dissemination of cultural heritage. The fourth issue is the problems of data silos and long-term operation and maintenance. The project builds an integrated digital platform to achieve the integrated management and hierarchical sharing of multi-source data and establishes a "cloud backup + annual update" mechanism to ensure its sustainable utilization.

Social Effects

By activating cultural heritage through technology, this case has formed both economic and social demonstration effects.

Economically, relying on innovative experiences such as VR roaming and MR guidance, the project has quickly attracted a large number of tourists, directly driving the upgrading of surrounding consumption formats such as catering, accommodation, and shopping, and activating the regional cultural and tourism industrial chain. It also creates diverse jobs such as technical operation and operational services to help increase employment and income, providing a replicable income-increasing path for the development of cultural and tourism economy in northern border areas.

Socially, the case has become an industry benchmark for the digital protection of cultural heritage. Its full-process "space-ground-detail" technical plan and "three-state integration" restoration model provide a replicable and promotable model for the digitalization of similar earthen ruins nationwide, attracting many cultural and museum institutions and research teams to conduct inspections and learn. The integrated digital platform constructed by the project transforms professional archaeological data into a vivid historical classroom accessible and interactive to the public. Through online exhibition halls and VR experiences, it greatly expands the coverage and communication efficiency of high-quality historical education, effectively promoting the public interpretation and social sharing of cultural heritage.

Support for Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 4 (Quality Education)

SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)