The Museum Without Walls

Background

Shanghai's Hongkou District has more than 300 immovable cultural relic sites and a rich variety of historic buildings, but these heritage resources were scattered, could not work together, and offered residents and visitors little that felt fresh or rich. Bringing these precious resources together, carrying on the district's history and giving people new cultural experiences became a key question for Hongkou's cultural development.

Key Requirements

• Heritage resources were scattered and hard to bring together to carry the district's history forward
• Offer residents and visitors new, rich and convenient ways to experience culture
• Find a new model for urban cultural development that strengthens the district's cultural profile and tourist appeal
• Use digital technology to go beyond physical space and bring cultural heritage to life

Solution

With tsanCenter as its technical backbone, Hongkou built a database of every heritage site in the district and brought these resources together to create a "Museum Without Walls".

Core Capabilities

Use Cases

Residents and visitors connect to on-site Wi-Fi and scan markers for text, images and audio about each building; digital twins and AR navigation let them feel history change around them; an online platform with AI customer service answers questions and encourages exchange; and personalized cultural walking routes are generated automatically.

1. On-Site Wi-Fi Guide

   Scan a guide marker to get text, images, audio commentary and historical footage for nearby heritage buildings

2. AR Navigation and Scene Recreation

   Virtual historical scenes combined with AR navigation let visitors experience how the area has changed

3. Smart Customer Service and Sharing

   An online platform with AI customer service answers visitors' questions and lets them share with one another

4. Custom Cultural Routes

   Generates personalized routes based on interests and available time, recommending nearby sites and their stories

Impact

tsanCenter helped Hongkou break the physical limits of a traditional museum, activate its scattered heritage resources, strengthen residents' sense of cultural identity and belonging, and grow cultural tourism in the district.