The world's first commercial multimodal large language model (LLM) for cultural tourism, named BoGuan, has entered broad application in Xi'an, China. Developed by Shaanxi Culture Industry Investment Group (SCG) in collaboration with Huawei, China Telecom Shaanxi, and China West Airport Group (CWAG), the model is generating commercial returns by supporting the creation of digital IP for intangible cultural heritage, the development of cultural tourism applications, and the improvement of short drama production. This initiative injects new momentum into China's heritage preservation efforts and the cultural tourism industry.
BoGuan, unveiled in September 2025, is built on intelligent computing infrastructure and a high-quality dataset comprising over 1.2 PB of data, 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. The model can generate highly accurate multimodal content, such as museum-quality descriptions of cultural relics, enabling the creation of digital relic presentations, digital preservation of traditional craftsmanship, and digital IP for intangible cultural heritage. For instance, dough sculpture artisan Zhang Beiyuan noted that the model allows him to complete a sculpture that previously took two to three months in less than a week.
BoGuan has also been used to develop digital IP like the popular cartoon character Tang Biaobiao, which integrates local cultural heritage elements with the stone carvings of the Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum. Sales of related digital collectibles and creative products have exceeded CNY2 million. Additionally, the model supports a range of cultural tourism apps, such as an AI travel companion agent available on the GO-SHAANXI app, which has been used by over 4 million users since March 2026. Visitors can interact with the agent to create and adjust travel 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 users to "travel back to ancient times."
Furthermore, SCG is leveraging BoGuan to integrate short drama production with cultural tourism, improving production efficiency and quality in Xi'an, a renowned short drama hub. To support these applications, China Telecom Shaanxi and Huawei have deployed a 5G-A network using three component carrier aggregation (3CC) technology at Xi'an's Grand Tang Mall, a popular tourist 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 streaming and social media experiences. 5G-A-powered HD live streaming at the mall has become a key tool for attracting visitors, 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." Huawei continues to collaborate with partners to enhance cultural heritage preservation and stimulate development within the cultural tourism industry.
