Hezhen Ancestral Origin Digital Heritage Experience Center

Located in Tongjiang, Heilongjiang, the 2,510-square-meter Center is China's first immersive space dedicated to the digital preservation and living inheritance of Hezhen Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Guided by the strategic framework of "Cultural Tracing + Digital Empowerment + Living Inheritance," the project establishes a dual-hall complex:

Hall A: This hall employs a linear, immersive narrative flow as its backbone. Through a spatial progression moving from the "Time Tunnel" to "Seven Cultural Chapters" and finally the "Epilogue," it integrates 3D mapping, AR, holographic imaging, and multimodal sensing. These technologies translate world-class and national-level ICH elements—such as Hezhen creation myths, Shamanistic beliefs, Yimakan storytelling, and seasonal fishing/hunting culture—into visualized, situational digital experiences.

Hall B: Designed as an open-concept space for lingering, this hall hosts ICH performances, fish-skin craft workshops, digital costume trials, and cultural retail. It is engineered to maximize visitor participation and the efficiency of cultural transmission.

Embracing "Virtual-Real Symbiosis" and "Five-Sense Immersion," the design creates a multi-dimensional experience through light and shadow storytelling, audio sampling (Hezhen language and Usuri Boat Song), haptic interaction, and gustatory elements. Material and color palettes are derived from the textures of fish skin, ice, snow, and river water, creating a tension between warm and cool tones that fosters a sensation of being "immersed in the landscape, within the culture. The project pioneers a fusion model of "Global Immersive Digital Experience + Living ICH Inheritance." By introducing NFC wristbands, interactive flooring, and updatable gamified content, it lowers the barrier to entry for deep cultural engagement, shifting ICH communication from "passive display" to "active participation." Grounded in the Report on the Birthplace of the Hezhen Ethnic Group, the center collaborates with inheritors on live Yimakan performances and handicraft tutorials, forging authentic connections between knowledge, skills, and community.

For sustainability, the project reduces resource use via modular recyclable structures, eco-friendly fish-skin materials, and a "digital-first" display approach, with phased construction and system reservations ensuring operational flexibility. Ultimately, the center establishes a contemporary museum paradigm blending exhibition, education, and consumption, while amplifying Tongjiang’s global profile as the "Hezhen Ancestral Origin" to drive cultural identity and economic synergy.