Shanghai emerges as a leader in metaverse development
Company executives shared their latest achievements on metaverse development during the World Metaverse Developer Conference in Shanghai on Wednesday.
Shanghai has been recognized as a top global metaverse city, with smart applications in the areas of tourism, urban development and medical services.
This aspect was highlighted at the first World Metaverse Developer Conference (WMDC2023) in downtown Huangpu District on Wednesday, where the "2023 Metaverse City White Paper" was released.
The white paper predicts that by 2025, the metaverse city industry will surpass the milestone of 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion).
Shanghai, along with other leading cities like Seoul, Dubai, London, Singapore, New York, Tokyo, Riyadh, Paris and Santa Monica, is at the forefront of this growth.
In 2022, China's metaverse city industry was valued at 26.8 billion yuan, with an expected increase to 104 billion yuan by 2025, marking a 50 percent annual growth rate. By 2028, the industry is projected to exceed 300 billion yuan.
Shanghai has launched several initiatives to boost its metaverse sector, including plans for nurturing metaverse enterprises and overcoming technological challenges.
Huangpu District exemplifies Shanghai's metaverse development, showcasing digital projects like the Yuyuan Garden Metaverse Lantern Fair and the construction of a digital twin for Ruijin Hospital, according to the white paper.
The 2023 Yuyuan Garden lantern fair
These projects integrate advanced technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence to create new consumer, tourism, and entertainment experiences.
The first Yuyuan Garden metaverse lantern fair integrated AR to offer virtual and real-world experiences, attracting 140 million views for its AR livestreams and over 800,000 participants in offline AR experiences, the district government said.
Another project is the digital version of the Memorial Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
This uses digital twin technology to create immersive digital representations. These spaces are designed to engage users with the CPC's history and principles, featuring interactive themes and a combination of online and offline experiences.
In healthcare, Ruijin Hospital's Metaverse Smart Hospital Application merges physical and digital spaces using digital twin technology, enhancing patient care and hospital management.
The system provides immersive navigation for patients, advanced clinical data access for medical staff, and integrated operational management for hospital administrators, setting a new standard in healthcare technology, the Huangpu government noted.
Cutting-edge metaverse applications were showcased on the sidelines of the conference.
