The world's first commercial multimodal large language model (LLM) for cultural tourism, named BoGuan, has entered broad application in Xi'an, China, according to an announcement by Shaanxi Culture Industry Investment Group (SCG) and partners including Huawei, China Telecom Shaanxi, and China West Airport Group. The model generates commercial returns by supporting digital IP creation for intangible cultural heritage, developing cultural tourism applications, and improving short drama production, injecting new momentum into heritage preservation and the cultural tourism industry.
Xi'an, one of China's oldest cities and a popular international tourist destination, is leveraging digital technologies like AI and 5G-A to promote cultural tourism. BoGuan, unveiled in September 2025 by SCG and Huawei, is the world's first commercial multimodal LLM for cultural tourism and China's first industry-specific model for cultural heritage preservation. It is built on intelligent computing infrastructure and a high-quality dataset exceeding 1.2 PB, including 31 million images, 4.4 million minutes of video, 2.18 million minutes of audio, 510 3D models, and 960 million pieces of structured text.
BoGuan generates highly accurate multimodal content, such as museum-quality descriptions of cultural relics, enabling the creation of digital relic presentations, digitalization of traditional craftsmanship, and digital IP for intangible cultural heritage. Dough sculpture artisan Zhang Beiyuan noted, "With this model, I can complete a dough sculpture that used to take two or three months in less than a week." The model has also created digital IP like the popular cartoon character Tang Biaobiao, integrating local cultural heritage with the stone carvings of the Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum. Sales of related digital collectibles and creative products have exceeded CNY2 million.
Beyond preservation, BoGuan powers cultural tourism apps such as AI photography and an AI travel companion agent. On the GO-SHAANXI app, visitors can converse with the agent to create and adjust itineraries and receive real-time performance recommendations. The Zhiying Camera mini program offers paid services that integrate user photos with AI-generated historical scenes, allowing visitors to "travel back to ancient times." These options unlock the business value of cultural tourism data. SCG is also using BoGuan to integrate short drama production with cultural tourism, enhancing efficiency and quality in Xi'an, a renowned short drama hub.
Additionally, China Telecom Shaanxi and Huawei have deployed a 5G-A network based on three component carrier aggregation technology at Xi'an's Grand Tang Mall, a popular attraction. The network delivers peak uplink and downlink rates of 600 Mbps and 3.5 Gbps, respectively, about 10 times faster than common 5G networks. During the 2026 May Day holiday, it supported concurrent access for 23,000 users, ensuring smooth video and social media experiences. 5G-A-powered HD live streaming has become an important visitor acquisition tool, with average user dwell time nearly doubling and average transaction value increasing by 62%.
Edric Chu, General Manager of Huawei's Shaanxi Rep Office, stated, "Artificial intelligence is not simply a stack of technologies. It has become a key enabler that can activate thousands of years of cultural heritage, reshape travel experiences, and inject new momentum into the industry. Moving forward, Huawei will continue working with our partners to enhance cultural heritage preservation with digital and intelligent technologies, and stimulate development within the cultural tourism industry."
