Xinhuanet > Entertainment > Text
2025
05/06
08:46:26
Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
The "Dragon Biao" No. 001 is the first publication of China's virtual reality film era begins
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The audience was watching the virtual reality movie "Night Banquet in the Tang Palace" in a wandering manner at the Henan Museum.

Poster of "Night Banquet in Tang Palace".

Poster of "The Secret Qin Mausoleum".

All pictures in this article are online pictures

　　On April 17, at the opening ceremony of the 15th Beijing International Film Festival "Borderless Immersion Unit", Henan Radio and Television Director Wang Renhai received the first "Dragon Biao" of China's virtual reality films - Dianshuozi [2025] No. 001, from Lu Liang, deputy director of the State Film Administration. This means that "The Night Banquet of Tang Palace" can be officially launched on the market as the first virtual reality film in China to obtain official certification. This historic moment not only marks the gradual maturity of virtual reality film technology from the experimental stage, but also indicates that the film industry is about to enter a new era.

　　On March 18, the State Film Administration issued the "Notice on Promoting the Orderly Development of Virtual Reality Films" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), which for the first time clearly stated that new forms of films that use relevant technologies of virtual reality (including augmented reality and mixed reality) will be included in the film management system, which will be included in the film management system.

　　"Night Banquet in the Tang Palace" and "The Secret Qin Mausoleum" produced by Henan Radio and Television immediately won the first batch of China's virtual reality movies "Dragon Biao". A profound change in the way film production and viewing is quietly unfolding.

　　From "sitting and watching" to "walking and watching"

　　This year marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of world films and the 120th anniversary of Chinese films. At this point in time, the release of the "Notice" is of special significance and has set a milestone in the history of the development of Chinese films. Virtual reality technology transforms the traditional still "movie viewing" into an immersive "present", bringing more narrative possibilities to creators and making the audience one of the main subjects participating in the film.

　　"The scenes such as crossing the river by boat and flying carpets are very vivid. I feel like I am really traveling back to the Tang Dynasty." An audience member who watched "Night Banquet in the Tang Palace" sighed.

　　Su Yifei, general manager of Henan Radio and Television Daxiangyuan Digital Technology Co., Ltd., producer of "Night Banquet in Tang Palace" and "The Secret Qin Mausoleum", introduced that the audience's immersive experience is due to the perfect integration of LBE large space technology, three-dimensional reconstruction and virtual reality technology. In "Night Banquet in Tang Palace", LBE large space technology supports the audience to move freely in the large space, and under the leadership of "Tang Xiaomei", we will return to the prosperous Tang Dynasty in an immersive way, witness the first meeting of poets Li Bai and Du Fu, drinking and writing poems, and even interact with them; in "The Secret Qin Mausoleum", three-dimensional reconstruction technology virtually rebuilds the interior of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum, allowing the audience to play the role of an explorer, and explore the internal structure of the Qin Mausoleum and the historical context of the Qin Empire at close range. The two works have a duration of about 40 minutes, recreating historical scenes for the audience, combining cultural heritage with in-depth interaction, and becoming a successful work in the field of virtual reality film.

　　In fact, virtual reality technology has long been associated with movies. In 2017, the Italian Venice Film Festival took the lead in setting up a virtual reality competition unit, officially including this type of work in the international mainstream film exhibition system. Many works such as the virtual reality animation "The Old Man with Dreams" produced by Pinta Studios, a local animation film company, were shortlisted for this unit. Since then, high-quality immersive video works have continued to emerge. In 2023, "The Disappearing Pharaoh - Immersive Exploration Experience of the Pyramid of Khufu" produced by French Excurio has become popular. On the basis of virtual reality technology, HTC's LBE large space technology is introduced, allowing viewers to walk freely in the space and witness the Pharaoh's funeral in the 1:1 restored pyramid. After the project was introduced to Shanghai, it attracted 110,000 viewers in 11 months, with box office revenue exceeding RMB 30 million, driving the rapid growth of virtual reality film and large space projects at home and abroad.

　　At present, virtual production studios and virtual reality film experimental screening halls have been built in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Wuxi and other places. Last year, the Shanghai International Film Festival specially set up a Future Cinema Unit and introduced 26 virtual reality films from home and abroad for screening. This year, the Beijing International Film Festival opened the "Borderless Immersion Unit", and 47 Chinese and foreign works that integrate various forms such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, circular screen, tri-fold screen and image interaction devices were screened.

　　A loyal audience at the Beijing International Film Festival said that unlike previous single-person wears equipment and watching movies on the spot, the virtual reality works screened this year introduced LBE large space technology to build an immersive exhibition, allowing multiple audiences to enter the plot simultaneously, from "sitting to watch" to "watching". The audience is watching movies on the spot, and participates in the film more immersively.

　　Standardized management promotes industry development

　　Although there were a lot of practices in combining virtual reality technology and film narratives before the release of the "Notice", there are essential differences in whether it is recognized as a movie. Yao Zhongfu, chairman of Henan Film and Television Production Group, believes that the release of the "Notice" not only clarifies the cinematic attributes of virtual reality movies, but also lays the foundation for the industry to break regional restrictions and promote market popularization. In the past, the content of virtual reality movies was often limited to specific scenic spots or places and was difficult to spread across regions. However, with the establishment of the positioning of "movies", the content of virtual reality movies can enter theaters across the country, breaking the constraints of venues and regions.

　　The release of the "Notice" has played a standardized role in the industry, helped promote the commercialization and mainstreaming of virtual reality films, and provided creators with more creative space and motivation, so they received positive responses from industry participants. Su Yifei said: "The Notice has formulated standardization standards, clarified the direction of technology, content, and distribution, lowered the production threshold, promoted the coordinated development of the entire industrial chain, and provided policy guarantees for the industry." Liu Han, the founder of a virtual reality film startup, believes that "The Disappearing Pharaoh - Immersive Exploration Experience of the Pyramid of Khufu" has become popular, giving birth to many new projects, and the content and design still have room for growth. The Notice can effectively guide market behavior and promote the publication of more high-quality works in the industry.

　　Virtual reality films will also gain new development opportunities, especially in the creation and distribution and screening. Che Lin, associate professor at the School of Drama, Film and Television, Communication University of China, pointed out that mature management systems in the film industry, such as filing and technical review, can promote the improvement of the quality and efficiency of virtual reality film creation. "Through unified creative standards, creators can avoid exploration and trial and error in previous virtual reality film creation, such as dealing with problems such as 'scene' concept and dizziness caused by fast moving lenses." Hua Xiaofeng, president of HTC's China business, believes that after the release of the "Disappearance Pharaoh - Immersive Exploration Experience of the Pyramid of Khufu", believes that after the release of the "Notice", virtual reality movies will be more widely entered national theaters, providing a more stable development environment for the development team and reducing the uncertainty caused by venue problems in the past.

　　Two-way empowerment of technology and narrative

　　Industry insiders believe that for virtual reality movies, technology and narrative complement each other and promote each other. On the one hand, technology has injected new vitality into film narratives. Movie language is deeply reconstructed under the empowerment of virtual reality technology, from building spatial scenes, designing multi-path narratives, and then breaking the story mechanism of linear time structure, breaking through the boundaries of traditional image expression at every level. Yao Zhongfu introduced that the 1.0 stage of virtual reality movies is mainly to pursue the freshness of scene experience, and to use head-mounted display devices to break the boundaries of traditional screens. "But this sensory stimulation comes quickly and goes quickly, and it will be no longer attractive once the freshness passes." He believes that by the 2.0 stage, the focus of virtual reality movies will shift to content creation and explore how to tell good stories; the current 3.0 stage needs to make greater improvements in the sense of movie, storyline and emotional value.

　　On the other hand, cultural heritage provides deep support for technological development. "The Night Banquet of Tang Palace" won the "Dragon Band" thanks to its deep traditional cultural foundation. It uses music, dance, costumes and poetry as creative themes to reproduce the cultural essence of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In 2021, the Henan Radio and Television Elephant Yuan team integrated high technology into the "Tang Palace Night Banquet" evening party, and in 2023, virtual reality technology was applied in the Henan opera program "Seventh-rank Sesame Official".

　　At the same time, virtual reality themes themselves are becoming increasingly diversified, covering multiple directions such as history, culture and tourism, and science fiction. For example, some science fiction works have opened up a broader imagination space for virtual reality movies.

　　Hua Xiaofeng said that many entrepreneurs mistakenly believe that enhancing interactivity is the key to breaking the circle of works. In fact, what is more important behind successful works is the creative logic, such as the innovation of classic IP or the reconstruction of story frameworks. She emphasized that when creating virtual reality movies with local Chinese characteristics, we must integrate the essence of traditional culture as much as possible. This can not only create unique audio-visual special effects, but also arouse the audience's emotional resonance and enhance cultural depth.

　　Che Lin is optimistic about the development potential of cultural and tourism virtual reality films: "This type of virtual reality works usually rely on physical scenes and are expected to become an increase in the field experience economy. They promote market expansion through a wide range of target groups and tourist bases, and at the same time innovate cultural communication methods." She believes that the effectiveness of "traditional culture + virtual reality" has been verified by projects such as "The Secret Qin Mausoleum", and localities are competing to invest in such projects to create new communication points and consumption points.

　　"The model of combining traditional culture and virtual technology can activate historical scenes and promote the integration of culture and tourism. In the future, more historical, intangible cultural heritage and other themes will enter this field and become an innovative carrier for cultural communication." Su Yifei introduced that "Tang Palace Night Banquet" has carried out project operations in Beijing, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou and Yongcheng, Henan, and as China's first virtual reality movie to go overseas, it was invited to Russia for cultural exchanges twice. "The Hidden Qin Mausoleum" was also screened in Kuala Lumpur in mid-April at the invitation of relevant Malaysian units. She said that she will also take her works to participate in the promotion and screening activities of the Cannes Film Festival in France in the second half of this year. (Xu Chuang, Miao Chun)

[Editor in charge: Susan]