Case Details
Project in brief: The "Shanhai Qiyu" AR Lantern Festival brings creatures from the Classic of Mountains and Seas into Shanghai's Yu Garden. Powered by EasyAR Mega and China Unicom's 5G network, it connects AR navigation, cultural interpretation, AI Q&A, virtual-real photo opportunities, online livestreaming, and mini-program experiences in one physical and digital festival.
Use case: Smart cultural tourism and festival digitization at Yu Garden Access: Mini-programs, mobile apps, and AR glasses Core experiences: AR wayfinding, digital guides, mythical-creature interactions, AI Q&A, livestreaming, and virtual tours
Project Context: A Lantern Festival Visitors Can Enter and Explore
Created by Sight+, the "Shanhai Qiyu" AR Lantern Festival transforms Shanghai's Yu Garden into a setting where Kunpeng, Yinglong, Phoenix, Divine Deer, Feifei, and other legendary creatures appear among Ming- and Qing-era architecture, the Nine-Bend Bridge, festive lanterns, and winding lanes.
The result goes beyond a traditional visit centered on viewing lanterns and browsing market stalls. On-site visitors can navigate, learn, interact, ask questions, and take photos within a shared AR layer. Remote audiences can join through virtual tours, lantern riddles, and livestreams, extending the festival beyond its physical boundaries.
Technology Backbone: EasyAR Mega Spatial Computing Platform
The project's AR effects, digital-human guidance, and virtual-real interactions are built on EasyAR Mega. Its city-scale AR cloud solution supports large-scene 3D mapping, creating a spatial representation of Yu Garden's pavilions, corridors, and lanes.
Centimetre-level positioning and sub-second response allow virtual creatures and effects to remain anchored to intended locations. Rapid local map updates help the experience adapt when the scenic environment changes, while multi-terminal access supports mini-programs, mobile apps, and AR glasses.
Digitally represents the garden's complex architecture and visitor areas for city-scale AR deployment.
Keeps creatures, effects, navigation cues, and interactive content tied to the real environment.
Supports on-site QR interactions, virtual tours, slow livestreaming, digital guides, mobile apps, and AR glasses.
Visitor Journey: Feifei as a Consistent Guide and Companion
Feifei comes from the Classic of Mountains and Seas: "On Mount Huo there is a beast, shaped like a fox, with a white tail and a mane; it is called Feifei, and keeping it can dispel sorrow." This gentle, "forget-your-worries" character becomes the festival's unified guide, appearing along eaves, lanterns, and lanes before switching into tour-guide mode.
Rather than separating navigation, interpretation, and interaction into unrelated tools, the project uses Feifei to connect them throughout the visit.
Sparkling footprints lead visitors to destinations such as Nanxiang Steamed Buns, Mid-Lake Pavilion, the Nine-Bend Bridge, restrooms, and exits. Themed routes support architecture, heritage-brand, and in-depth garden tours.
A bilingual Chinese-English guide covers 25 interpretation points across architecture, time-honoured brands, and historical stories, supported by maps, images, and audio.
Visitors can ask about nearby buildings, food, folk tales, and routes, receiving real-time answers while they continue exploring.
At locations such as the Nine-Bend Bridge and Yu Garden Old Street, visitors can photograph Feifei with lighting and shadows adapted to the scene.
Online Experience: A Cloud Lantern Festival Beyond the Garden
The online experience lets people take part even when they cannot visit Yu Garden in person. Livestreaming, riddles, and the Alipay mini-program each provide a different point of entry while remaining connected to the same festival world.
Real night views are combined with Kunpeng, Jade Rabbits, Divine Deer, dragons, phoenixes, and Feifei. The livestream recorded more than 140 million views across the internet.
Offline "one code, one riddle" stations connect with online quizzes, level progression, leaderboards, and rewards.
"Shanhai Qiyu Ji" gives on-site and remote audiences access to AR interactions, the livestream, virtual tours, and a later digital-human lantern-lighting ceremony.
On-Site Interaction: Scan to Summon the Mythical Realm
AR interaction points across the Nine-Bend Bridge, Central Plaza, and Yu Garden Old Street allow visitors to scan a QR code and bring mythical creatures into the real scene through their phones.
Kunpeng, Yinglong, Phoenix, Divine Deer, Feifei, and other creatures appear around the garden's eaves, lanterns, and streets.
Visitors select a personalized blessing and release a virtual lantern into Yu Garden's night sky.
Experiences include "Summon the Mythical Realm," "Roam the Mythical World," "Mythical Realm Vision," "Bestiary of the Mountains and Seas," and "Riddle Quest."
Project Value: One Connected Cultural-Tourism Experience
City-scale positioning, large-scene mapping, and multi-terminal compatibility provide a reusable foundation for digitizing heritage sites.
AR and AI turn classical myth from written description into visible, interactive content for broader and younger audiences.
People on site can navigate, learn, play, and create memories, while remote audiences join through livestreams, virtual tours, and riddles.
The project connects streaming, on-site interaction, mini-program engagement, visitor services, and cultural communication in a replicable festival model.
Millions of local and visiting guests have participated on site, while the online program has widened access beyond Yu Garden. Together, these channels demonstrate how a physical event and its digital extensions can operate as one cultural-tourism experience.
Future Outlook
As spatial computing and AI capabilities evolve, characters such as Feifei can gain more distinct personalities, more natural conversation, and richer emotional and narrative interactions.
The Classic of Mountains and Seas also provides room for side quests, treasure hunts, and immersive storylines that could turn a garden visit into an unfolding mythical adventure while keeping the experience connected to the site's culture and physical environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the "Shanhai Qiyu" AR Lantern Festival?
It is a virtual-real festival experience at Shanghai's Yu Garden that places creatures from the Classic of Mountains and Seas into the physical site and connects on-site AR activities with online participation.
What role does EasyAR Mega play in the project?
EasyAR Mega provides the large-scene mapping, visual positioning, spatial alignment, and multi-terminal foundation used by the project's navigation, digital guides, AR effects, livestreaming, and virtual-tour experiences.
How can visitors interact with Feifei?
Feifei can guide visitors through AR footprints, connect them to cultural interpretation and AI Q&A, appear around the garden, and join them in virtual-real photos at designated locations.
Can people participate without visiting Yu Garden?
Yes. Remote audiences can use the "Shanhai Qiyu Ji" Alipay mini-program to watch the AR livestream, take a virtual tour, join lantern-riddle activities, and access other online festival content.
