As an important form of immersive cultural tourism, immersive night tours break away from traditional seated performances. They utilize special effects such as light, sound, electricity, water, mist, and fire, along with digital presentation methods, to achieve an innovative, comprehensive immersive cultural tourism consumption model of "dynamic real-scene + humanity + performing arts + consumption." Immersive night tours have been widely used in the cultural tourism of ancient cities and towns in recent years, with many excellent domestic cases becoming popular, such as "Dreamland Tulou" in Yongding Tulou, Fujian, and "Inviting the Moon at Tuisi" in Tongli Ancient Town, Suzhou. These not only stimulate the nighttime economic vitality of ancient cities and towns but also deeply imprint the history and culture of ancient cities and towns in the hearts of tourists, fully implementing the concept of "using culture to shape tourism and using tourism to highlight culture."
Immersive night tours, as an important form of night tourism, transform traditional sightseeing tourism into a brand-new immersive experience. This form of night tour uses high-tech lighting and shadow technology, interactive experiences, and rich cultural content to create an immersive nighttime tourism experience for tourists. It not only enriches tourists' nighttime tourism options but also injects new vitality into the development of the city's tourism economy.
Current Status of the Combination of "Ancient Cities and Towns + Immersive Night Tours"
(1) What are "Immersive Night Tours?"
Immersive night tours break through traditional performance methods, integrating sound, light, electricity, costumes, makeup, props, water, fire, and mist special effects with advanced technological means. They combine real-life scenes, cultural arts, and people to achieve a three-dimensional, multi-faceted, and multi-dimensional visual experience. The ultimate goal is to revitalize scenes, reproduce culture, and transform them into tangible experiences for tourists. This form of overlapping presentation of real and virtual scenes allows tourists to immerse themselves in the night, achieving the effect of "unaware of being a guest in a dream," while also transforming culture from legend into present-day reality.
(2) How do ancient cities and towns combine with immersive night tours?
The combination of ancient cities and towns with immersive night tours is currently one of the important forms of immersive cultural tourism that revitalizes the local historical and cultural heritage. Using the ancient buildings, landscapes, historical stories, food, intangible cultural heritage, and other iconic elements of ancient cities and towns as elements of immersive night tours, combined with digital technologies such as 3D mapping, laser projection, and water curtain shows, immersive cultural scene performances are created. At the same time, multiple integrations of commerce and cultural tourism are carried out to achieve a combination of commercial ancient streets and the humanistic and landscape features of ancient cities and towns, enriching tourist experiences and promoting local economic development. For example, the "Longing for Qufu, Night Tour of Liaohe" night tour project has driven Qufu ancient city to achieve an increase of 3.63 billion yuan in the city's tourism industry added value and activated nearly 5 square meters of idle assets. This deep integration of historical culture, modern technology, and commercial complexes allows tourists to consume during their travels and to understand and appreciate the culture of ancient cities and towns during consumption.
Appreciation of Domestic Immersive Night Tour Cases in Ancient Cities and Towns
(1) Ningyuan Ancient City, Jiliao Governor's Mansion—"Right Here in Ningyuan"
"Right Here in Ningyuan" is the first immersive night tour and large-scale real-scene performance in Northeast China, jointly produced by Xingcheng Development Investment Group and Jiadian Jiemo Culture Group. Based on the Ningyuan Great Victory, the play vividly reproduces the heroic deeds of the people in the city uniting as one to defend their homeland, profoundly highlighting the unbreakable and hardworking spirit of the Xingcheng people that has been passed down for hundreds of years. The audience will experience both walking and seated viewing methods, and the fully immersive performance method allows the audience to have a realistic experience that is within reach.
The project team cleverly utilized the existing Jiliao Governor's Mansion for renovation and upgrading, upgrading the artistic lighting effects of the ancient city walls and buildings. Giant wall fireworks and city wall holographic projections were cleverly applied, and the idle old newspaper printing factory area was integrated. Using cutting-edge sound, light, electricity, combustion, water curtain, and wire effects, combined with top domestic stage design and production, the actors' graceful dance and superb martial arts skills create an unforgettable spiritual journey for tourists that can be touched.
(2) Huizhou Nanxun Ancient Town—"Jiangnan Xun Dream"
"Jiangnan Xun Dream"—Nanxun Ancient Town's immersive night tour, premiered in 2020 in Huizhou's first national 5A-level tourist attraction, Huizhou Nanxun Ancient Town. It is characterized by "sound, light, and electricity" + "no actors" + "immersive viewing" + "holographic projection" + "laser special effects" + "deeply rooted in local culture," and its design core is "low cost, light maintenance, high technology, strong culture, short cycle, high return, and easy iteration." It comprehensively utilizes high-tech means such as "sound, light, and electricity" to create various multi-dimensional and multi-sensory experiences, allowing tourists to immerse themselves in various themed light and shadow theaters. This is a brand-new immersive nighttime boat tour that breaks the boundaries of time and space.
"Jiangnan Xun Dream" consists of five parts: "Mulberry Nanxun," "Business Nanxun," "Republic of China Nanxun," "Dream Back to Nanxun," and "Hundred Families Nanxun," with seven nodes: "Agricultural and Sericultural Water Town," "Zhang Family's Past," "Small Bridges and Flowing Water," "Unending Moon of Xun," "Xunxi Viewing," "Xun Dream Hundred Houses," and "Fish and Water Bubbles." Planned while fully protecting the original humanistic landscape of the scenic area, the total route is about 2 kilometers, and the tour time is 1.5-2 hours, creating an immersive light and shadow interactive multi-dimensional experience that combines "movement and stillness, reality and virtuality, and emotion and scene." This interactive multimedia immersive night tour uses specific humanistic landscapes as carriers, with its unique regional and cultural characteristics. It breaks through the characteristics of time, breaks through spatial limitations, breaks through the dimensions of thought, and allows tourists to "enter Nanxun, feel Nanxun, and understand Nanxun" from multiple perspectives.
(3) Fujian Yongding Tulou—"Dreamland Tulou"
In 2022, the large-scale immersive night tour project "Dreamland Tulou," jointly created by Yongding Tourism Group and Hanhe Tianchen, officially premiered in Fujian Yongding Tulou. This project integrates night tours, night entertainment, night shopping, night stays, and night performances. With the theme of "Dream Back to Tulou" and based on the history and culture of the Hakka people's five southward migrations, it creates six sub-themed contents: Tulou Echo, Tulou Charm, Where Did the Hakka Come From, Tulou Protection, Tulou as a Painting, and Tulou Dream Return. It highlights the Hakka mountain songs, intangible cultural heritage performances, Hakka origins, Hakka family precepts, Hakka mountains and rivers, and Hakka spirit. Combining cultural stories + holographic performances + interactive experiences + artistic light and shadow, it creates a brand-new "immersive" boutique cultural tourism night tour project that integrates "the fusion of art and technology, the compatibility of dreams and reality, the appreciation of magic and beauty, and the brilliance of culture and history."
The project, without damaging the Tulou cultural relics or affecting the local people's production and life, uses the spaces of Tulou architecture, water systems, and trails as carriers. It employs various natural elements such as light, shadow, mist, air, water, thunder, and wind, and utilizes new artistic methods including 3D water curtain shows, holographic projection, naked-eye 3D mapping, lasers, and immersive experiences. Combined with bionic devices, motion capture, sensory interaction, light and sound installations, mechanical props, and short situational dramas, this light and shadow art allows tourists to personally experience a sensory experience integrating viewing, interaction, and functionality. It offers a multi-dimensional understanding of the unique and rich Hakka culture of Yongding Ancient City, using digital light and shadow to help this World Cultural Heritage shine even brighter.
Immersive night tours: An effective approach to revitalizing ancient city culture in modern times
(1) Unearthing the historical stories of ancient cities and towns, shaping night tours with culture
Culture is the source of content, the starting point of creativity, and the recipient of immersive night tours in ancient cities and towns. When creating scenes using the spatial landscape of ancient cities and towns, the developers of immersive night tour projects must first excavate the historical and cultural heritage buried in time. They should conduct a comprehensive preliminary compilation of materials on the historical and cultural context, urban human relationships, and landscape veins of the ancient city or town. Then, through the integration of this preliminary information, they should identify unique local stories. They should select stories with complete plots that are consistent with the atmosphere of the ancient city or town, and extract key elements such as characters, ancient city skills, and iconic objects. Shaping night tours with culture is the path to creating content that stimulates local consumer power, gains cultural recognition from local consumers, and attracts outside tourists.
(2) Innovative application of ancient city and town elements, showcasing culture through night tours
After obtaining sufficient historical and cultural materials from ancient cities and towns, the developers of immersive night tours need to focus on plot, technology, and cultural communication to create a fully immersive environment encompassing content, sensory, and spiritual immersion.
(3) Plot as the core, creating an immersive sense of story
Performances are an indispensable part of immersive night tours and are key to connecting the interactive viewing points scattered along the immersive route. Developers of immersive night tours should utilize adapted stories of ancient cities and towns. Along the immersive route, they should design different types of performances in different areas and time periods according to the plot, creating a scene full of storytelling, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the story and participate in the performance.
(4) Adding color with light, sound, and electricity, creating an immersive technological experience
Technology plays an important role in creating scenes and expressing stories in immersive night tours. In the development of immersive night tours in ancient cities and towns, from the perspective of improving basic technological elements, basic artistic lighting modifications should be made to the facilities, city walls, and street appearances of ancient cities and towns, unifying the lighting and decorative style within the scene. From the perspective of using highlight technological elements, 3D mapping shows, water curtain light shows, tower light shows, river laser shows, and light interactive art installations, which are common in night tour projects, need to go further. Collaboration with avant-garde artists should be sought to incorporate more full-sensory immersive content into the arrangement of technological shows, fully engaging the audience's hearing, vision, and smell, increasing the audience's sense of participation and interaction during the immersive night tour, rather than simply focusing on creating visual spectacles.
(5) Cultural communication, shaping an immersive sense of history
As a key project for revitalizing local cultural tourism economy, immersive night tours not only bear the responsibility of driving regional consumption but also the responsibility of revitalizing local traditional culture, promoting the historical stories of ancient cities and towns, and increasing cultural identification among consumers. The development of performances, consumption spaces, and technological shows in immersive night tours should be combined with the historical and traditional culture of ancient cities and towns. Local representative IP elements should be selected for story adaptation, and intangible cultural heritage and folk cultural elements should be integrated into the content of consumption spaces. Technological means should be used to create performances with greater humanistic care, conveying the culture of ancient cities and towns to the audience, allowing them to immerse themselves in either a grand and profound sense of history or a fresh and natural urban atmosphere.
The 2024 Ancient Town Tourism Research Report points out that the development and creation of ancient town tourism requires the integration of traditional culture, fashionable elements, and modern services to meet tourists' dual needs for historical and cultural experiences and modern convenient facilities. In-depth excavation and display of the historical culture of ancient towns is the foundation for shaping ancient town tourism. The integration of fashionable elements can add new vitality to ancient town tourism. Without damaging the original appearance of the ancient town, modern artistic design concepts can be introduced to create unique cultural and creative products and cultural activities to attract young tourists and enhance the fashionable atmosphere of the ancient town. Immersive night tours have a significant driving force for the cultural promotion and economic growth of ancient cities and towns. In the development of immersive night tour projects in ancient cities and towns, attention should be paid to the integration of ideology, artistry, and entertainment, showcasing the glorious history and unique charm of ancient cities and towns. By introducing unique perspectives and cleverly using technological means, tourists can be led into an immersive space where "art and technology merge, dreams and reality are compatible, magic and beauty are appreciated together, and culture and history shine together."
In addition to focusing on the creation of scene content, developers of immersive night tours in ancient cities and towns should also pay attention to audience service, new media promotion, performance reputation, and social impact, allowing immersive night tours to comprehensively and multi-dimensionally empower the modern rebirth of ancient cities and towns.
