Crossing Time — To Feel, Understand, and Reconnect
Some memories fade with time. Others can be awakened again through technology.
Professor Hsu Wen-Jung spent four years (1992–1996) completing a monumental ink scroll — 320 meters long and 1.8 meters tall, a world-record-setting contemporary ink painting titled Taiwan Panoramic Painting. With exquisite brushwork, it captures the cultural texture and natural spirit of Taiwan. Now, through XR technology, this static artwork is transformed into an immersive journey you can enter, witness, and participate in — a 23-minute narrative and interactive experience presented as Chapter III: XR Walking Tour.
At its core, the project blends virtual and physical reality with education and entertainment, integrating the latest VR hardware (Meta Quest 3), a 5G multi-user synchronization system, and spatial audio design. Audiences are no longer mere spectators — they become travelers walking inside the painting. From ink aesthetics to real-world landscapes, from historical memory to contemporary perception, the experience opens a cultural exploration that transcends time and the senses.
The story begins at Sun Moon Lake.
In a vast stillness of sky and water, the audience finds themselves hovering above the lake’s surface, drifting forward on a slow-moving boat into an unspoken journey. Light shimmers on the water, time seems to stretch, and the senses gradually open. As the boat quietly quickens, the perspective suddenly lifts toward the sky — the first light of dawn rises slowly from the far end of the lake. As light and shadow interweave, reality and the painted world begin to overlap, setting the stage for a journey through time.
Young photographer Jay (played by Charles Tu) is accustomed to documenting life through his lens, but keeps a certain distance from Taiwan’s history and culture. Then, in a mountain forest, he encounters Mountain (played by Yuan-Ching Liao), a guide with a deep passion for cultural history — and a fantastical journey quietly begins.
Through the nuanced storytelling of acclaimed playwright Pao-Chang Tsai, the audience enters the world of Taiwan Panoramic Painting through Jay’s first-person perspective. Moving from detachment to gradual immersion, he begins to understand his mother’s dedication as a cultural historian — and to see, anew, the depth and warmth of this land.
The moment you put on the VR headset, you are no longer a bystander — you become a fellow traveler alongside the characters, experiencing a transformation of memory, culture, and emotion through walking, gazing, and interaction.
The experience spans five major scenes and nine chapters, connecting landmarks including Sun Moon Lake, the thousand-year-old camphor forests of Alishan, Shifen Waterfall, the old mining town of Jiufen and its mine cart, and Beigang Chao-Tian Temple — allowing audiences to move freely between virtual and real.
Using 3D modeling and on-site scanning, the team collaborated with Beigang Chao-Tian Temple to faithfully reconstruct its physical space as a virtual environment, blending it with ink-style artistic scenes to create a visual language that is simultaneously realistic and poetic. Audiences can stand before a roaring waterfall and feel the mist; ride a mine cart through cloud-wrapped mountain streets; or stand beneath a millennium-old tree and sense the passing of time.
Technically, a 5G multi-user synchronization system combined with avatar representations allows multiple participants to experience the journey simultaneously, clearly perceiving each other’s positions and movements — adding a sense of shared presence and interactivity. Paired with spatial audio design, every gust of wind, insect call, and human voice is precisely positioned within the space, deepening the sense of full immersion.
The journey ends at the incense-filled Beigang Chao-Tian Temple.
Within an ethereal soundscape composed by music producer Elisa Lin, the audience completes the ritual of casting divination blocks. When the wooden blocks meet the floor with a crisp sound, it marks not just the close of the experience — it symbolizes an inner transformation: Jay’s reconciliation with his mother, with himself, and with this land.
Virtual and real converge here. Personal memory and collective culture overlap. The journey closes in the lingering warmth of emotion.
Taiwan Panoramic Painting – A Timeless Immersive Journey is not merely a showcase of technological application — it is a gentle and profound cultural walk. Through the fusion of art and technology, it guides audiences to rediscover Taiwan through movement, and to understand anew the meaning of “documentation” and “inheritance” through feeling.
The project integrates multiple immersive technologies to build a high-quality XR experience environment:
- 5G Multi-User Synchronization: Supports high-definition video transmission and real-time interaction for a smooth, stable experience
- VR Device (Meta Quest 3): Delivers highly immersive visual and interactive engagement
- 3D Modeling and Scene Reconstruction: Precisely recreates representative landscapes across Taiwan
- Multi-User Real-Time Interaction System (4+ participants): Enhances participation and collective action
- Avatar System: Visualizes other participants’ movements and positions, strengthening presence and social connection
- Spatial Audio Design: Positional sound effects and acoustic reflection meticulously recreate environmental atmosphere
- On-Site 3D Scanning: In collaboration with Beigang Chao-Tian Temple, faithfully reconstructs the real-world space and integrates it with artistic scenes
Through this technical integration, art is no longer confined to observation — it becomes a cultural experience you can walk through, feel, and take part in.
Credits
Artist of “Taiwan Panoramic Painting” Hsu Wen-Jung
Production Company | CTAMBI INC.
Executive Producers | Stan Shih, Franz Chen
Supervising Producer | Flora Hwang
Producer | Jasmine Chou
Director | Po-Jen Yang
Writers | Pao-Chang Tsai, Derjk Wu
Planning Coordinator | Albert Liu
YURI Studio
Animation Art | Yun-Chung Tsai, Yung-Hua Lu, Calvin Tjuanda
Programming Director | Hsin-Yi Wu
Project Managers | Elena Tu, Yun-Hsuan Huang
Programming Engineers | Yu-Ren Chang, Jui-Yuan Hsu
Graphic Design | Chloe Lu
Line Producers | Elena Tu, Yun-Hsuan Huang
Music Scoring | Elisa Lin
Sound Design | Frank Liu
End Credit Song | The Life After
Written and Performed by | KJ (Guang-Run Tian)
Produced by | Elisa Lin (Downtown Music)
Creative Team
Actors | Charles Tu (Jay), Yuan-Ching Liao (Mountain)
Motion Capture Dancers | Meng-Ting Hsieh (Mountain), Kevin Chang (Jay)
Voice Actors | Chia Lee (Jay’s Mom), Xuan-Yi Zhu (Jay)
Production Support
Line Producer Coordinator | De-Yu Tsai
Curation Executive Coordinator | Charlene Chao
Curation Design Coordinator | Vivian Kuo
Ticketing Coordinator | Fina Lin
Technical Support | Jay Liu
Exhibition Operations | AL Lin
Marketing Planner | Ting-Jing Huang
Technical Operators | Wei-Chen Liang, Ellen Chang
Exhibition Coordinator | Karen Yu
Ticketing Operations | Joan Kao, Vic Chuang, Hsin Wang, Paula Chen
Administrative Support | Trista Mou, Julie Chiang
Legal Support | Christian Chen
Co-organizers | Downtown Music, Star Sky Production
Special Thanks | Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, Beigang Chao-Tian Temple
This film is supported by the Ministry of Culture Taiwan’s “TAIWAN CONTENT PLAN XR IMMERSIVE CONTENT PROJECT” grant.