Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings

Why

In 2023, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) celebrated its centennial anniversary. As a highlight of these festivities, they unveiled "Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings," a special exhibition showcasing bronzes, jades, and other artifacts from the Shang Dynasty, originating from the birthplace of Chinese archaeology.

To enhance the onsite visitor experience and extend accessibility to patrons worldwide, the Smithsonian aimed to integrate immersive and interactive elements into the exhibition. Over a period of six months, we collaborated closely with the museum’s team to conceptualize, develop, and implement three distinct digital experiences for the show. These pieces are:

  • The Anyang Underground

  • Life in the City: An Anyang Neighborhood

  • Hidden Dragons AR

What is this...

The Anyang Underground served as a captivating multi-screen video installation, acting as both the introduction to and culmination of the Anyang: China’s Ancient City of King exhibition. Utilizing multiple screens, it presented a cohesive narrative recounting the initial excavations at the Anyang site during the late 1920s and early 1930s, showcasing archival photos, footage, drawings, and documents. The integration of spatially positioned speakers within the gallery complemented the visuals, enveloping visitors in the atmosphere of Anyang.

For those unable to attend the physical exhibit, The Anyang Underground 360 offered an immersive and accessible online rendition of the installation, hosted on the NMAA website. To address loading and buffering challenges associated with the four 8-minute videos, we employed a technique where a single large video was utilized, with its texture applied via UV maps and shaders to four distinct planes in 3D space, resulting in significant performance improvements.

Life in the City: An Anyang Neighborhood comprised an interactive kiosk featuring a tabletop touch screen and a 55” wall-mounted display, offering insights into the daily lives of Anyang residents. Users navigated the experience via the tabletop screen, which presented a map resembling a top-down view of an excavation site. Designed to be intuitive, the map allowed users to explore the neighborhood with minimal instructions, striking a delicate balance in its design. The wall-mounted display showcased relevant content corresponding to the features and topics selected on the map. Additionally, we developed an accessible web adaptation of the interactive kiosk experience hosted on the NMAA website. Leveraging efficiencies, our team repurposed code for the web version, optimizing time and resources.

Hidden Dragons AR offered a mobile WebAR scavenger hunt, guiding museum visitors through the NMAA's two buildings. Participants were tasked with locating six ancient dragons concealed within virtual replicas of bronze artifacts from the museum's collection. These replicas were accessible by scanning image markers on physical signage positioned throughout the museum. The scavenger hunt not only enriched the visitor experience but also forged a thematic and literal connection between the Anyang exhibition and the Ancient China galleries.

Conceiving our 3,000-year-old dragons presented a remarkable creative challenge, drawing inspiration from bronze carvings and abstract forms. We realized the mobile scavenger hunt using three primary technologies: ReactJS, Playcanvas, and 8th Wall. Additionally, visitors had the option to engage with the scavenger hunt in an accessible mode compatible with screen readers.

CLIENT: Smithsonian Institution

DESIGN: UNIT9

ENGINEERING: UNIT9

MY ROLE: Tech Lead