Digital heritage integration of Kunqu opera and Suzhou classical gardens

Research demonstrates that integrating Kunqu opera performances with Suzhou classical gardens through 'living documentation' significantly enhances cultural understanding and audience engagement. By combining multi-camera arrays and Gaussian Splatting, the study creates an Integrated Digital Theater that provides photorealistic, site-specific reenactments, linking intangible cultural heritage (ICH) to its material context. User studies reveal improved spatiality, realism, and cultural wholeness compared to traditional VR methods, fostering simultaneous interest in both Kunqu opera and the gardens. This approach addresses the gap in current 3D digitization efforts by embedding performance data within tangible heritage environments.

Tian, F., Lu, Y., Tu, M., Zhu, Q., & Li, Y. (2026). Digital heritage integration of Kunqu opera and Suzhou classical gardens. Npj Heritage Science, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-026-02353-6