Dynamic digital scroll reveals life a millennium ago

"Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival," one of the greatest ink-washing paintings in Chinese history, has been brought to life thanks to the latest advances in digital technology. The 5.28-meter-long scroll by Song Dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) is currently being displayed at the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center in Guangxi, where a dynamic digital version of this famous panorama is being shown on vast digital screens.

This digital "moving scroll" measures 128 meters long by 6.5 meters high, and is scaled up to a size hundreds of times larger than the original work. Among the city walls and numerous houses and trees, there are 1,068 moving figures, 73 ambling heads of cattle and 29 boats transporting goods and people – all helping to vividly depict the hustle and bustle of everyday life in Dongjing, the former capital of Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), which is now modern-day Kaifeng.

The masterpiece is displayed in three sections based on specific scenes, namely the suburban landscape, the Bianhe River, and a street view of Dongjing. Visitors can gain a comprehensive understanding of how China used to look 1,000 years ago – from its booming economic development and flourishing business and trade to its highly-developed handicraft industries and complex transport networks.

The exhibition runs from July 2 to August 27 in Nanning. After its debut at the Shanghai Expo in 2010, the moving scroll has travelled to Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand to meet the public.