The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has introduced online virtual reality (VR) tours for five more of Macau’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, the bureau said in a statement yesterday.
The newly available sites comprise the Ruins of St. Paul’s, the Old City Walls (section at Calçada de S. Francisco Xavier), Lou Kau Mansion, Na Tcha Temple (next to the Ruins of St Paul’s), and IC’s Na Tcha Exhibition Room, the statement noted. The pilot project for online virtual tours was launched last year for Guia Fortress and the Mandarin’s House.
The statement said that the sites’ virtual tours are currently available to the public and can be accessed by visiting the IC Online Virtual Tours (VR) website at https://vr.icm.gov.mo.
Two “distinct online experiences”, according to the statement, are also featured, which are the “Interactive Scenic Area” and the “Interactive Exhibits”. The experiences are provided in Cantonese, Putonghua, Portuguese, and English.
Viewers of the online exhibition can browse architectural details and high-definition photos, listen to audio tours and read the respective written explanations by clicking parts of the buildings and exhibits, the statement added. Moreover, the statement said that using VR glasses can also enhance the visitors experience of the online tours.
Through the online tours, the statement underlined, the participants can visit Macau’s World Heritage online at any time and from anywhere in the world, adding that they can also enjoy a 360-degree tour of the scenic spots without ever leaving home and have “a better remote touring experience” of the sites with innovative technology.
This image provided by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) yesterday shows the webpage for the online virtual reality (VR) tour of Na Tcha Temple near the Ruins of St Paul’s.
