21 September 2026 News

Cultural Heritage and Museum Innovation : Baidu’s full-scenario digital human platform Baidu Yijing (百度一镜) has partnered with Zhengzhou Bowuguan (郑州博物馆) and Hanwei Luoyang Gucheng Yizhi Bowuguan (汉魏洛阳故城遗址博物馆) to launch the “Baidu Understand Cultural Relics at a Glance” AI short comic drama project, transforming museum-held cultural artifacts such as the bronze ox-head vessel, Namma mammoth tusk, bodhisattva stone statue, high-relief painted deer-head hollow brick figurine, gilt bronze ox, and Zhaojun’s Departure bronze mirror into dynamic short videos with plot and characters, realizing the transformation from “static exhibition display” to “dynamic comic drama.” The project covers the entire workflow of AI script creation and video generation, and simultaneously launched two capability portals: “Business Opportunities Marketplace” and “Short Drama Market Trend Insights.” It has attracted over 30 mature screenwriters, 8 hit-making screenwriters, and 4 script studios, with buyers comprising more than 10 platforms and institutions, driving precise supply-demand matching in short dramas. Digital Humanoids For Government Affairs And Ideological Education: Multiple government and educational institutions across regions are introducing AI digital humans into public services and ideological-political courses. Tongshanxian Renminjianchayuan (通山县人民检察院) Hubei launched an “AI Prosecutor” digital human law popularization theater, with interactive rule-of-law lectures covering more than 30,000 students across the county; Gansulanzhou (甘肃兰州) the “Pomegranate Blossoms Bloom on Long Yuan” grand ideological-political course introduced “AI digital human” interactive forms, integrating Gansu’s local red resources to develop emotionally-engaged education; Beijing Haidianqu Shiyan Xiaoxue Jiuyi Fenxiao (北京海淀区实验小学九一分校) in the “Two Bombs and One Satellite” themed activities, a commemorative video of “Yu Min Digital Human” was screened, re-presenting the style and bearing of “Two Bombs and One Satellite” meritorious figures in digital form; Fujian (福建) in 2026 World Manufacturing Convention intelligent AR blackboards will be displayed, with textbook figures such as Mulan, Li Bai, and Darwin transformed into virtual digital humans engaging in real-time dialogue and interaction with students; Chengdu Jintangxian (成都金堂县) in the “Reading the Future” children’s science popularization reading activity, children conducted knowledge question-and-answer competitions with virtual figure “Einstein”; at an Anhui forum’s main forum discussion session, a virtual image named “Weiran” served as moderator throughout; Taiwan Xinbeishi (台湾新北市) the “Smart Technology Literacy and Programming Design Innovation Application Competition” for the first time introduced AI digital humans to deliver opening and closing remarks; NetDragon Websoft Holdings Ltd. Chairman Zheng Yicheng delivered remarks in the form of a digital human avatar at a university AI maker co-creation camp awards ceremony.

Medical Health Science Communication : Aier Eye Hospital and Zhongguokexueyuanjisuanjishuyanjiusuo (中国科学院计算技术研究所) jointly developed “AI Digital Human” technology has established a matrix of over 200 full-specialty ophthalmology expert digital humans. The science communication intelligent agent works derived from this achievement have been selected for the 2026 National Quality Science Communication Works List and have been deployed at scale at the group headquarters and multiple hospitals in Hunan, Liaoning, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangdong, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and other locations, covering science education and communication, academic dissemination, education and teaching scenarios. Hunansheng Renmin Yiyuan (湖南省人民医院) has built upon the initial science communication foundation of six core physician AI digital humans by adding AI digital avatars of experts from six additional departments: hepatobiliary surgery, cardiovascular medicine, orthopedics, respiratory medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and obstetrics. Scripts are reviewed and approved by practicing experts, while AI completes on-camera performance and video generation. This science communication matrix has assembled 16 core experts, with initial content achieving nearly one million views across the internet.

Aviation and Transportation Services Digital Human : At the Fourth China Air Transport Association Aviation Conference, the digital human “Nanhang (南航) Xiaoke” displayed in Nanhang (南航)’s exhibition hall can complete services such as flight check-in seat selection and flight information inquiry, supported behind the scenes by large artificial intelligence models and multiple sets of intelligent agent collaboration, and will soon be deployed at multiple domestic airports; Nanhang (南航) simultaneously launched the “One Moment Boarding” service and built a super-large-scale airline integrated digital-intelligence platform, continuously advancing AI convergence applications.

Digital Human Applications in Cultural Tourism Scenarios : Shanxi Datong Ping Chengqu (大同平城区) has proposed new digital cultural tourism scenarios including AIGC, digital human tour guides, and micro-dramas in its “15th Five-Year Plan” for culture and tourism, driving the digital transformation of traditional cultural tourism; Chengdu Tumi Changyou Intelligent Technology has partnered with Shaanxi Hanchengshi (韩城市) Cultural and Tourism Bureau to launch an exclusive AI travel companion project for Records of the Grand Historian culture across the entire destination, creating an AI digital avatar of “Sima Qian” to enable cross-temporal interactive Q&A between tourists and the “Grand Historian,” and opening exclusive digital avatars and commission-sharing systems for local tour guides and travel agencies, with the project expected to begin trial operations during the 2026 National Day Golden Week; the Dujiangyan venue of Chengdu’s second “Village Sugar Festival” has unveiled the digital IP character “Li Bing Visiting the Village Sugar,” polishing rural industrial and cultural tourism credentials in digital form; Switzerland Rineiwa (日内瓦) “Chinese Flavor” culture and tourism promotion conference has innovatively employed AI digital human Olivia, leading on-site audiences in a “cloud tour” of China in the capacity of a “food recommendations officer”; Guangxi (广西) exhibition hall has showcased the digital human “Liu Sanjie” intelligent cultural tourism experience at the Guangdong International Tourism Industry Expo; Jiangxi Tengwangge (江西滕王阁) scenic area has set up virtual digital human “Wang Bo” to score and explain guests’ recitations in its “recitation for free admission” activity, complemented by VR projects that recreate the aesthetic of Tang Dynasty banquets.

Enterprise Customer Service and Live Streaming Digital Humans : On Jiaoge Pengyou (交个朋友) platform, Luo Yonghuo’s digital human attracted over 13 million viewers during Baidu Dianshang (百度电商) livestream, with GMV exceeding 55 million yuan, setting a new record for digital human livestream commerce; Ningdeshi Qiaoshang Jicai Zhongxin (宁德市侨商集采中心) leveraged self-developed AI technology to launch multilingual AI digital human livestreaming and AI short video batch generation systems, enabling 24/7 uninterrupted cross-border livestream commerce; Tencent disclosed that over 40 securities firms’ headquarters have entered its online account opening customer acquisition system, with the AIGC digital human “Miaosi (妙思)” platform capable of reducing content production costs, with script character limits expanded from 100 characters to 1,500 characters.

Vehicle Cabin Virtual Avatar : Qijing Qiche (启境汽车) released Qijing GX7 (启境GX7) configuration information. The vehicle was jointly designed by Qijing and Huawei Qian Kun (华为乾崑). It debuts with the cute virtual avatar “Qiqi” from HarmonyOS Cockpit HarmonySpace 6, which can synchronously respond based on vehicle gear position, battery level, steering, music playback, incoming calls and other states, and supports exclusive welcome light language, precise welcome unlock, and red light waiting animation linkage.

AI Virtual Idols and Entertainment Industry : Hanqing Studio created the AI virtual idol Yuri Hanqing Studio, who held the country’s first AI artist offline concert at the Shanghai Bund Conference, performing alongside independent folk group “The Landlord’s Cat,” Shanghai Huili Youeryuan (上海惠立幼儿园) choir, and digital human Aura Ji Meng AI (即梦AI), and attempted for the first time to share the stage with a real singer through a bionic robot avatar. Yuri received Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone’s national first virtual idol identity certification and offline commercial performance qualifications in January 2026, and has completed commercial cooperation verification with brands including Oulaiya (欧莱雅), Vivo, and Kuluo Youxi (库洛游戏). In the same period, AI virtual human Fang Taozi, born on April 1, 2026, gained 550,000 followers within three months through the short drama series “The Girl Who Got Laid Off,” appeared on the electronic cover of “New Vision Digital Special Issue,” and expanded fashion commercial partnerships, becoming a representative case of the AI content track upgrading from a single short drama character to an independently operable IP. Additionally, a digital avatar film by Stephen Chow was revealed to be collaborating with an automaker, with related promotional content having generated attention prior to the 24th.

Digital Portrait Authorization and Facial Data Trading : Faced with the chaos of AI deepfake infringement, actress Qi Wei has unveiled a legally authorized AI animated drama《The Last Brilliant Summer》, with the female lead character “Han Qingxia” created by her digital avatar; Wu Qihua has licensed his likeness at age 20 to an AI film where he does not appear on set at all; Wang Zuxian has licensed her peak-years likeness from ages 20 to 30 to NetEase, Inc. game 《Tianxia (天下)》 and released a short film 《Ethereal Shadow》; You Benzhang has collaborated with Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧) on 《The Impostor降龙 of Ji Gong》, licensing the youthful image and voice of “Ji Gong” while retaining final review authority. Chengdu OST Chuanmei (成都OST传媒) has completed intellectual property registration of multimodal portrait datasets for over one hundred internet celebrity artists under its roster through the Yingjie Zhineng (映界智能) technology platform, securing the nation’s first MCN industry portrait data confirmation and registration, with single-use licensing for ordinary individuals priced at approximately 500 to 1,000 yuan. Meanwhile, the Wuhan AI facial authorization platform “Xinzhao (新爪)” has established collection points and launched “face-recording” services for the general public and entertainment professionals, with over 300 real portraits already registered and over 100 successful transactions; the platform safeguards portrait rights through hash-value on-chain storage and a secondary authorization closed loop, enabling production companies such as Wuhan Zhicheng Vision Technology to avoid “face-fusion” infringement risks in AI short dramas.

AI Short-Form Drama Industry Dynamics : An AI entertainment export summit held in Chengdu indicated that the overseas AI short-form drama and manhua market is expected to exceed $4 billion in 2026, with Chinese enterprises commanding over 90% market share in the overseas micro short-form drama sector. Companies including Guangzhou Lightbox Dynamic Culture Media and Chengdu Haiyi Huluo Technology (with subsidiaries SeaArt, Moreshort and digital companion product SeaSoul) are expanding from short-drama production into the digital human emotional companionship track. Hong Kong-listed company Dui Ba Jituan (兑吧集团) announced the gratuitous transfer of 11.21% equity to its employee stock ownership platform for talent incentives in AI short-form dramas and other AI businesses. At a “Short-Drama New Forces” AI-Empowered Live-Action Film and Television roundtable forum in Changsha, representatives from enterprises including Mi Gushumei (咪咕数媒), Minglve Keji (明略科技), Hema Juchang (河马剧场), Xi Yao Keji (西垚科技), and Xigua Chuangxiang (西瓜创想) discussed commercialization pathways for collaboration between live-action performances and AI digital counterparts, proposing models such as actors’ digital counterparts investing in IP assets and AI combined with live-action testing to reduce trial-and-error costs. A Guowuyuanxinwenban (国务院新闻办) press conference disclosed that 430,000 micro short-form dramas were launched nationwide in the first eight months of this year, with AI dramas accounting for over 90% of the total. National Radio and Television Administration explicitly stated strong support for live-action drama creation and required AI dramas to be labeled with content sources while strictly adhering to authorization standards for image and voice rights.

Ethics and Regulatory Risk : Regarding the problem of AI softcore content disguised and infiltrating adolescents’ digital lives through forms such as AI role-playing, AI animated short dramas, and virtual romantic companion interactions, an article published in the Legal Daily points out that Cyberspace Administration of China and four other departments jointly issued the Interim Measures for the Management of Anthropomorphic Interactive Services Based on Artificial Intelligence, which came into effect on July 15, 2026, explicitly prohibiting the provision of virtual relatives, virtual companions, and other virtual intimate relationship services to minors; in an online romance fraud case tried by Guangzhou Liwanqu Renminfayuan (广州荔湾区人民法院), the defendant Xiong XX committed fraud again by impersonating a female identity and exploiting virtual personas during probation, ultimately having the suspended sentence revoked and receiving a four-year prison sentence under concurrent sentences, with judges reminding the public to rationally distinguish virtual personas in online dating; Guangmingwang (光明网)’s “Exposing AI Traps” series of popular science articles point out that criminal elements bypass financial platform verification mechanisms through virtual face appearances and AI-synthesized face verification videos to commit card fraud and deception; Chengdushi Shichang Jianguanju (成都市市场监管局) released the central and western region’s first Compliance Guide for AI-Generated Advertising, incorporating AI virtual humans and virtual digital images of real persons into the scope of AI-generated advertising definition, explicitly requiring prominent labeling such as “AI Virtual Human” and establishing a negative list that prohibits generating recognizable virtual digital images of specific natural persons without consent for advertising and marketing purposes, and prohibits claims in advertisements that AI virtual humans have actual experience using the advertised goods or services.

Enterprise-Grade Digital Human Technology and Patents : Zhitang Keji ( Beijing ) (智唐科技(北京)股份有限公司) filed a patent application for “multimodal collaborative interaction methods and systems for large language model-driven virtual digital humans,” driving virtual digital human interactions through multimodal semantic feature fusion and emotional expression strategies; Shanghai Ai Jianglin Keji (上海爱降临科技) announced that the “AI Jianglin Pai (AI降临派)” project completed angel round financing of nearly tens of millions of yuan, with plans to open-source a full-duplex speech large model benchmarked against international GPT-Live, with application scenarios including consumer-grade digital humans; the Chengdu Yuzhou Caixiang (宇宙猜想) digital exhibition made an appearance at the National Day reception held by the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, with its technological accumulation covering AIGC, three-dimensional reconstruction, and digital human motion capture; Guangxi (广西) Nanning hosted the China–ASEAN Expo, which established an “AI consumer mega-marketplace” for the first time, showcasing over 500 consumer AI products including vocal accompaniment practice digital humans.