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A LARGE projection screen showing several kinds of ancient Chinese instruments, such as chimes and drums, was set up in an exhibition area called Mobile Museum in Hall 5 at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, where the 13th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (ICIF) is being held from Thursday to Monday.

Visitors can “play” the instruments by simply touching the instruments on the screen. “The touch screen is really creative as it provides visitors with an interactive experience,” said a visitor surnamed Zhao, who works in museum engineering. However, he said it would be better if the screen could show the visitors how to play a simple piece of music with the virtual instruments.

Mobile Museum was set up by Shenzhen Esun Display Co. Ltd., a company specializing in 3-D scanning, printing and virtual reality technologies.

3-D printed copies of the ancient bronze wares were displayed in the exhibition area with an iPad placed beside each of the exhibits enabling visitors to view detailed information and 3-D digital models of the exhibits. There is also a 3-D projection room for visitors wanting to watch an animated video about ancient Chinese bronze culture.

One of the company’s staffers, surnamed He, said the exhibition area is called Mobile Museum because the company can create same-sized copies of antiques by building 3-D digital models of them, making it easy for the exhibits to be displayed anywhere.

The company’s technologies can also be used for rebuilding historical relics in a digital format creating a virtual exhibition system for antiques, which could eventually be used to build a digital museum that is available 24/7 for visitors, according to He.