Enriching the Summer Palace’s cultural experience

Cultural Heritage occurs when visitors tell stories of exceptional experiences at historic sites - after their visit occurs. For the Summer Palace’s directors to create exceptional experiences, exhibition designers must understand how to tell stories that have great meaning to the Summer Palace’s national and international visitors. Our research targets this question – we propose developing innovative and unique storytelling methods through interactive exhibitions throughout the Summer Palace to suspend the visitor’s sense of reality; increasing their sense of flow, suggestion, and engagement. We suggest the Summer Palace for this research project due to its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site seeking to increase its international reputation. If directors and exhibition designers understand how advanced technology, including immersive exhibitions and augmented reality, can meet educational, enjoyment, and emotional needs of the Summer Palace’s diverse visitors during festivals and tourist visits, we may increase existing visitor’s engagement, and capture new tourist groups - who previously ignored the Palace. We hope our work shall ultimately contribute to making the Summer Palace China’s foremost Cultural Heritage Site and festival epicentre.