On September 17, the 2025 World Internet Conference Cultural Heritage Digitalization Forum was held in Xi'an. ZHUANG Rongwen, Chief of the Cyberspace Administration of China and Chairman of the World Internet Conference, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. ZHAO Yide, Secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CPC, delivered a welcome address. Governor ZHAO Gang, and YANG Jianwen, Vice Minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China, attended the opening ceremony and addressed the main forum. REN Xianliang, Secretary-General of the World Internet Conference, presided over the opening ceremony. SUN Qingwei, President of Northwest University (NWU), was invited to attend and delivered a keynote speech at the main forum.
At the main forum, high-level representatives from international organizations, ministerial-level officials from relevant national government departments, senior representatives from leading enterprises and industry institutions in the cultural heritage and museum sectors, as well as renowned experts and scholars, held in-depth discussions around four topics: “Protection & Inheritance,” “Technology & Innovation,” “Industry & Empowerment,” and “Openness & Collaborative Governance.” The focus was on exploring new methods and pathways for digital empowerment in cultural heritage protection and promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
During the forum, SUN Qingwei visited the Cultural Heritage Digitalization Excellence Exhibition. At the NWU booth in the “Digitalization of the Terracotta Warriors” exhibition hall, he listened to introductions from NWU faculty regarding technologies for the activation and utilization of cultural heritage and exchanged views with relevant Chinese and foreign experts on specialized fields and potential cooperation matters. The 2025 World Internet Conference Cultural Heritage Digitalization Case Collection was also released at the main forum. NWU’s project case “AI-based Digitalization and Virtual Restoration Technology for the Terracotta Warriors” was selected for inclusion in the collection.
