Shanghai Metaverse Pilot Introduces Digital Services in 20 Urban Locations

The city of Shanghai is bringing metaverse activities to 20 urban locations, that will allow citizens to use digital tools in different ways according to the area. The initiative is part of a pilot program of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization to push more metaverse applications to the population.

Shanghai, China is quickly moving to integrate the metaverse as part of the lives of its citizens. The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization recently announced a pilot program to turn 20 different urban locations into “major metaverse application scenarios,” that will feature digital tech in several ways.

The implementation of this tech will cover various social fields, including business operations, education, branding, and entertainment. The city hopes this will allow citizens to receive smarter services from city facilities in these areas. For example, in the area of healthcare, Ruijin Hospital will establish a VR (virtual reality) facility to inspect patient rooms via metaverse representations.

In the same field, the Shanghai Eye and ENT Hospital set up a metaverse diagnostic system that will allow doctors to tend to patients using 3D scanning equipment.

One of the biggest attractions that will offer metaverse features is the Oriental Pearl Tower, a landmark with a height of almost half a kilometer. The broadcasting tower, which is a common place for tourists to visit, will allow visitors to fly over the commercial area of Shanghai via a VR-enabled application.

Guo Yifeng, general manager of the Shanghai Tower, explained they hope this new focus might help the tower, which was recently renovated, to attract more visitors. He stated:

We hope these new metaverse projects can enrich people’s visiting experience and make our online marketing more accessible and interesting.

Also, another bustling part of the city, Nanjing Road, is launching an online market that will allow customers to make purchases using the digital yuan, China’s CBDC (central bank digital currency).

All of these efforts are part of a plan the city announced back in July last year, in which Shanghai declares it aims to become a $52 billion metaverse cluster by 2025, outlining the different goals that the city will need to reach to achieve this. One of these objectives is to add a digital component to various activities and sectors.

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