Taiwan’s First Interactive Hangzhou Tourism Experience Zone Launches – Explore West Lake with Just a Tap

▲ The Hangzhou Tourism Interactive Experience Zone offers photo synthesis features, allowing visitors to easily immerse themselves in various scenic spots across Hangzhou.

Reported and photographed by Chen Ruizhong / Taipei

As we enter the new era of smart tourism, emerging tech products can also make pre-trip “homework” more fun. Taiwan’s first “Hangzhou Tourism Interactive Experience Zone” was officially launched today (May 12). Wang Hong, Secretary-General of the Hangzhou Municipal Government, led a delegation to Taiwan specifically for the opening ceremony, hoping that interactive technology will help more people get to know Hangzhou.

▲ Wang Hong (3rd from left), Secretary-General of the Hangzhou Municipal Government, and guests jointly inaugurate the Hangzhou Tourism Interactive Experience Zone.

The Hangzhou Tourism Commission and Lion Travel jointly set up the smart tourism interactive experience zone at the Hangzhou Tourism (Taipei) Service Center. It features a large 65-inch touchscreen display and interactive software, enabling visitors to explore major attractions in Hangzhou with just their fingertips and access comprehensive travel information. The zone also offers a “Hangzhou Scenic Spot Photo Synthesis” feature, allowing visitors to “step into” iconic Hangzhou scenes for memorable photos.

▲ Hangzhou provides public bicycle rentals and free Wi-Fi, offering great convenience for travelers.

At the opening press conference, Wang Hong stated that Hangzhou’s West Lake and Taiwan’s Sun Moon Lake are sister lakes, and the two destinations enjoy frequent exchanges. According to statistics, over the past four years, 2.21 million Taiwanese tourists have visited Hangzhou, while nearly 700,000 Hangzhou residents have traveled to Taiwan. He hopes this “smart tourism” experience will help Taiwanese people develop a greater fondness for Hangzhou.

▲ Li Hong, Director of the Hangzhou Tourism Commission, personally tries out the interactive features.

After experiencing the interactive software firsthand, Li Hong, Director of the Hangzhou Tourism Commission, happily noted that Hangzhou boasts convenient transportation, well-developed public bike facilities, and is the first city in China to offer free Wi-Fi—making it highly suitable for young independent travelers. With the world now in the smart era where everyone has a mobile device, Hangzhou has not only built an interactive experience zone but also developed a travel app for smartphone users and even outsourced the management of its Facebook fan page. The goal is to engage younger audiences through various smart means and attract more visitors to Hangzhou.