A digital institute, which will display cultural relics in the Palace Museum or the Forbidden City to visitors, has finished the main part of the project. The joint Sino-Japanese institute has collected the most advanced high technology in the world.

Located in the Palace Museum in the heart of Beijing, the institute is laid out in traditional Qing Dynasty style. The key part of the institute is the 400-square-meter high definition digital simulation studio. In the studio, audience of up to 52 people will be able to enjoy three-dimensional graphics from a world-class super graphic station.

Xu Hu, deputy director of Information Center of the Palace Museum, said, "It allows the interaction between the audience and the machine. The audience give their request to the operator. Then they can see the whole the palace from every angle, from the top, the bottom or any designated point."

The huge curved screen and Hi-Fi equipment will also provide the visitors with an artistic treat. The institute covers an area of 2,000 square meters. After one year of construction, it will go into use in two months.

(cctv.com.cn August 17, 2003)