Here Come the Holograms!

Move over Great Wall and Forbidden City, the holograms are coming.

At least a dozen cities throughout China have begun using high-tech augmented reality and holographic shows to attract the next generation of tourists.

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In Haining, just outside Shanghai, a 50-million-yuan theme park that features a water and light show of tortoises, dolphins and virtual models has attracted more than 3.9 million visitors since opening in September, according to Bloomberg.

And Haining is merely one of many examples.

The Chinese company Nth Power, founded by Zhou Wei, has managed about 30 similar projects around the country, among them a giant wall of touch-sensitive virtual jellyfish at an aquarium in southern Guizhou province.

In Anhui province meanwhile, the company Tencent Holdings Ltd is planning an e-sports park with attractions based on anime characters and online games. Shopping malls and restaurants are also getting in on the action, utilizing similar technology to draw crowds and keep them captivated.

Even the Chinese multinational e-commerce and retail giant Alibaba Group Ltd, is dabbling in this new arena. It has been using an augmented reality game involving a cat to attract people to shopping destinations.

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For those who have 10,000 yuan burning a hole in their pocket, the Shanghai restaurant Ultraviolet now offers an immersive dining experience using lights and sound. At the Guangzhou zoo, a virtual reality zone that opened just last month invites visitors to experience how bats hunt using augmented reality lenses. Zoo visitors can also snap a selfie with virtual pandas.

Even Buddhist sites have caught on. Mount Putuo, a Buddhist pilgrimage area outside of Shanghai, is constructing a hologram show that includes the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.

"Don’t underestimate the demand for these VR hologram themed parks and shows for the cities in China,” Nth Power’s Zhou told Bloomberg. “Places like Hangzhou and Hainan that are already tourist destinations all want this."