Smart tourism in China attracts global visitors

Driven by new technologies, smart tourism has become a buzzword in China's tourism industry, attracting more and more global tourists.

An increasing number of global tourists are exploring China's diverse landscapes, from the bustling metropolises of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou to the less known but equally captivating regions like Hunan and Jiangxi.

One of the latest innovations in smart tourism can be seen at the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing, where the city has launched its first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) logistics delivery route.

Visitors can now use their smartphones to scan a QR code and log in to the delivery platform, and in as little as five minutes they can receive items such as medicine, drinking water and food delivered by UAVs.

"I ordered this umbrella. It's crazy. It's crazy how the delivery here," said a tourist from Portugal.

Many other scenic spots in China are offering immersive and smart tourism that combine traditional elements with modern technology to provide visitors with captivating and innovative cultural experience.

With the help of advanced technologies such as 3D modeling and VR devices, foreign tourists were captivated by the millennium-old cave art in the Mogao Grottoes and the exquisite relics at the Dunhuang Museum in northwest China's Gansu Province.

In addition, Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province recently become quite a popular destination for foreign tourists. The city's latest technologies, such as the suspension monorail line and autonomous vehicles, are playing a crucial role in attracting visitors.

The monorail train, also known as "the Optics Valley Photon," appears to hang upside down because the track is positioned above. Passengers can enjoy the city from an entirely different perspective through the glass floor beneath their feet.

The latest data showed that in the first half of the year, the number of foreign passengers entering and exiting Wuhan Tianhe International Airport reached 82,800, which is 5.57 times that of the same period last year.

Smart tourism in China attracts global visitors

Smart tourism in China attracts global visitors

Experts attending the ongoing Beijing Xiangshan Forum on Thursday called for codifying the basic rules governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in modern weapons and defense activities, which runs from Sept 12 to 14.

Under the theme of "Promoting Peace for a Shared Future," this year's forum features critical discussions on global security, regional stability, and innovative technologies in defense, with widest attendance from over 100 countries and organizations.

During a special academic activity of the forum, leading experts had a dialogue on AI security on Thursday afternoon as AI's influence has extended beyond mere production process, reaching a wide range of areas, including the military.

"This is still relatively new in the United States, but I think you can see it as an area of growth to have greater discussions about military AI and AI issues in the large," said Chad Sbragia, research staff member at the Institute for Defense Analyses, also former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for China.

Calling AI tools double-edged swords, he called for efforts to hammer out basic rules and guidelines for the use of the technology.

As AI's development direction is towards man-machine integration, how to make use of it in the military is another topic discussed at the event.

"The future development of AI in the military will focus on human-machine interaction and intelligent systems that integrate human, machines, and the environment. The outcome depends on who uses the technology, as different users will lead to different results. Therefore, we strongly urge the international community to take a unified stance, much like the opposition to nuclear weapons, and resist the misuse of AI, which could harm world peace," said Liu Wei, director of the human-machine interaction and cognitive engineering laboratory with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

Experts call for codifying rules on AI use in military at Xiangshan Forum