Xi'an Xianyang International Airport unveiled the world's first airport on-site museum Wednesday, inviting travelers to explore Chinese culture during their layover. Travelers at the airport's Terminal 5 can now explore the Western Airport Museum, a 6,400 square meter space designed to transform waiting time into a cultural journey.
"The biggest feature of the Western Airport Museum is the unique combination of airport plus museum. The main exhibits are artifacts unearthed during the constructions of airport. There are very few places in the world where an airport can showcase artifacts excavated from its site that carry rich historical stories. Xi'an [Xianyang International] Airport indeed has exceptional advantages to achieve this," said Chen Yao, project manager of the Western Airport Museum. There're two halls in the Western Museum, one is the "Square Hall", which covers an area of 400 square meters, and the other is "Treasure Hall", which covers an area of 88 square meters.
The Square Hall is the basic exhibition, and 121 cultural relics unearthed in the airport archaeological excavations over the years are the main exhibits.
The Treasure Hall curates special exhibitions, displaying only one cultural relic at a time and replacing the exhibits every three to six months.
The West Airport Museum is closed every Monday and Chinese New Year's Eve after its official opening. The museum has a reservation system, which allows visitorsto make reservations online. "In our museum, there are free tours by volunteer tour guides throughout the day, and many activities including the intangible cultural heritage exhibition, cultural and creative exhibition and scientific and technological experience," said Chen.
Xi'an airport opens world's first on-site museum for passengers
The 2025 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) is underway in Beijing, bringing together global experts and industry leaders to discuss cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid robot innovation.
The ZGC Forum features a series of events including the "AI Theme Days" which run from March 27 to 31. This segment comprises two core forums, five specialized forums, and many featured activities.
Seven significant AI achievements were unveiled at the Future Artificial Intelligence Pioneer Forum on Saturday, including the Beijing AI Public Computing Platform Eco-Network. This network will amalgamate computing resources nationwide and optimize resource allocation, thus garnering considerable attention and discussion from attendees.
Li Dahai, a corporate executive attending the event, expressed enthusiasm about the platform's potential to provide high-quality computing services at a lower cost, and to facilitate innovation.
"Through such a plan, we can obtain very good computing power services, which have not only high quality but also lower cost. This is extremely helpful for us to better engage in innovative work. In fact, the government has also built a good data trading platform on the basis of the computing power platform. Through such a data trading platform, we can also more conveniently access more data providers, allowing large models to have more data nourishment," he said.
This year's ZGC forum also spotlights various humanoid robots, showcasing the boundless applications of new technologies.
The humanoid robot of "Tiangong" can adeptly navigates challenging terrains involving slopes, rocks, and sandbags, showcasing its skills in traversing complex landscapes.
"Our goal is to imbue robots with true intelligence, enabling them to comprehend commands, interpret their surroundings, autonomously plan task sequences, and ultimately assist in achieving objectives. In scenarios like electricity inspection which involved high voltage power cabinets, the ‘Tiangong’ robot can execute relatively hazardous maneuvers with precision," said Li Yipeng, a staff member at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center.
Meanwhile, another humanoid robot also demonstrated football playing and completed with celebratory gestures after scoring a goal.
A robot developed by the Linkerbot Beijing Technology, capable of playing the piano with dexterity, stands out for its nimble hands. It can effortlessly handle tasks like screwing bolts and conducting research experiments.
"The robot can perform very delicate operations, such as tightening screws, in advanced manufacturing applications," said Zou Hanzhang, a staff member of the marketing department of the company.
According to the organizer, this year's ZGC Forum displays nearly 100 representative robots from 15 companies, and the humanoid robots are breaking new ground with AI in entertainment, commercial services, and are progressively finding applications in logistics sorting, healthcare and elderly care sectors.
2025 Zhongguancun Forum highlights AI, humanoid robots
