The "Four Spirits of Heaven" series of digital collections released in xi'an city wall scenic spot. (Photo courtesy of Xi'an City Wall Scenic Area)
Xi'an, 21 Jan (Xinhua) -- At 3 p.m. on January 19, Li Bai, a "post-80s" boy, sat in front of a computer and was eager to try to buy the digital collection "Four Spirits of Heaven -- White Tiger Anding Yongkang" for sale in Xi'an City Wall Scenic Area. Unexpectedly, the 999 direct purchase collection was just 1 minute after it was launched, and it was "snatched up".
Unlike traditional cultural and creative products, buyers receive not a physical commodity, but a well-designed digital picture – with the Anding Gate of the Xi'an City Wall as the background, a white tiger with wide eyes stepping on Xiangyun and Peony, roaring with its mouth and imposing.
A digital collection is a specific digital work identified using blockchain technology, and each collection has a unique digital credential. Players of digital collections can enjoy, download, display and share collections on the display platform.
At present, China's digital collection market is in its infancy, and the number of participants and market size are growing rapidly. Especially in the field of culture and blogging, digital collections are often "killed" by enthusiasts once they are released. The digital collection of "Yue Wang Gou Jian Jian Sword", the treasure of the Hubei Provincial Museum, was issued in 10,000 copies, attracting about 600,000 people to buy it online. The 60,000 copies of "digital cultural creation" launched by the Jinsha Site Museum in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, based on cultural relics such as the Sun God Bird and the Dajin Mask, sold out in 50 seconds.
"Compared with traditional cultural creation, digital collections are more in line with the current consumption needs of young people." Li Bai said. Since the beginning of 2021, he has been focusing on digital collections, and he has successively purchased digital collections launched by museums, art galleries, etc. In his view, the digital collection is more youthful and fashionable, at the same time, the digital attribute breaks the time and space restrictions, and the limitation and uniqueness increase its collection value.
Zhu Keli, founding director of the National Research Institute of New Economy, said that blockchain technology has realized the identity authentication and confirmation of rights protection of digital products, and the digital display platform has provided buyers with a place for collection, appreciation and sharing, coupled with young people's preference for virtual products, creating space for the development of digital collections from both supply and market aspects.
The "Xi'an City Wall Little Samurai" digital collection for sale in xi'an city wall scenic spot. (Photo courtesy of Xi'an City Wall Scenic Area)
The Xi'an City Wall, which was built in the Ming Dynasty, has a history of more than 600 years and is one of the famous city wall buildings in Chinese history. In line with the digital boom in the cultural tourism industry, in October 2021, Xi'an City Wall launched a digital collection development project. On December 16, 2,801 copies of the Xi'an City Wall Little Samurai Digital Collection designed according to the popular IP of the city wall, Jinjia Samurai, were sold out as soon as they were launched, and the winter limited edition of the little samurai sold in the form of auction attracted more than 40,000 people to participate, with a maximum bid of 39,501 yuan.
At the beginning of this year, the Xi'an City Wall created a series of digital collections of "Four Spirits of Heaven" based on the four sacred beasts of the Green Dragon, White Tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu that guard the four directions in traditional Chinese culture. "The four sacred beasts have symbolic significance such as warding off evil spirits, avoiding disasters, and praying for blessings, and their patterns can be found in the four gates of the Xi'an City Wall, east, west, south, north and south, as well as the lamp poles and flags on the city wall, guarding the city day and night, with the beautiful meaning of Chang'an and Yong'an." Xi'an Qujiang City Wall Tourism Development Co., Ltd. general manager Suning said.
In 2021, the "Blockchain Technology Activates Digital Cultural Heritage" released by the Institute of Culture and Economics of the Central University of Finance and Economics said that digital cultural creation has created a new type of cultural consumption that can be confirmed and traced, and under the framework of multi-party cooperation, the protection, inheritance and dissemination of traditional culture can become more efficient.
In order to regulate the development of digital cultural creation, the National Copyright Exchange Center Alliance and other units jointly issued the "Self-Discipline Convention for the Digital Cultural and Creative Industry", reaching 11 consensuses on empowering the real economy, adhering to original genuineness, eliminating virtual currency, and preventing speculation and financialization risks.
Suning said that in the next step, the City Wall Scenic Area will continue to release various digital collections such as Xi'an urban cultural IP and Tang culture. Explore and try to bring the ancient ruins of the Xi'an City Wall to life.