2 October 2026 News

Cultural and Tourism Digital Humans : Digital human tour guides are becoming standard applications at scenic spots across multiple regions in cultural tourism scenarios. Hangzhou Xihu Fengjing Mingshengqu Guanli Weiyuanhui (杭州西湖风景名胜区管理委员会) introduced the “Liang Sheng AI Tour West Lake” product created by Hangzhou digital life technology company Liangsheng Shuzi (良胜数字) (LiangAI), allowing tourists to point their mobile phone cameras at real scenes like the Broken Bridge, upon which legendary figures such as Bai Suzhen and Su Dongpo appear in digital human form and narrate West Lake history in more than 60 languages including Chinese, English, and French. The technology, led by co-founder Song Quanqiu’s independent research and development, is powered by a self-developed native Chinese LiangAI character large model enabling cross-language real-time dialogue. Xizang Zirankexue Bowuguan (西藏自然科学博物馆) launched the “Snow Domain Smart Exploration · Ten Years of Science Popularization” activity on the occasion of its tenth anniversary of establishment, with the museum’s exclusive AI digital human IP guide “Dongzhu” making its debut appearance, sharing the stage with light and shadow shows and embodied robots to serve alpine science expedition education. The tenth Zhongguoxiqu Wenhuazhou (中国戏曲文化周) opened at the Beijing Garden Expo Park, with AI digital host “Xibao” partnering with a live host to complete hosting for the entire event, while the garden deployed three major interactive terminals—embodied robots, “Xibao” digital humans, and unmanned mobile vehicles—for visitors to experience traditional opera culture immersively; Huizhou Zhongkai Gaoxinqu (惠州仲恺高新区), serving as the Greater Bay Area sub-venue, also leverages the “Zhongforce Magnetic Field” future industry scenario innovation verification center, combining AI opera commentary interactions like “Xibao” digital humans with “Zhongkai Smart Manufacturing” hardware including smart lamp poles and unmanned vehicles to create the “Huizhou Has Opera, Smart Manufacturing Has Voice” sub-venue. Digital interactive platform emowowo created by Chengdu creator Li Chao reconstructed Dongjiao Jiyi (东郊记忆)’s skateboard park, Chengdu stage, and other scenes into a virtual community, with roles such as “Dongjiao Jiyi (东郊记忆) retired worker” and “trendy brand owner” each bound to independent AI agents possessing the ability to remember user preferences and sustain dialogue. This work has been displayed on 2026 Chengdu Guoji Shuzi Guangying Yishujie (2026成都国际数字光影艺术节)’s Dongjiao Jiyi (东郊记忆) screen, and Li Chao hopes to expand it in the future into a “Digital Chengdu” accommodating landmarks from different cities. Additionally, Hubeisheng (湖北省) explicitly proposed in the “Artificial Intelligence+ Three-Year Action Plan (2026—2028)” advancing “artificial intelligence+ hotel” virtual room selection, implementing digital human shopping guides and virtual try-on consumer scenarios, and plans to leverage iconic scenic areas such as Huanghelou (黄鹤楼) and Wudangshan (武当山) to integrate applications of digital humans, AR/VR, and intelligent light and shadow technology to create immersive cultural tourism experience projects.

Public Services and Government Applications : The government and public service sectors are also introducing digital human assistants in batches. Shanghaishi Yiliao Baozhangbumen (上海市医疗保障部门) In response to the new fertility medical expense guarantee policy implemented starting October 1st, residents are advised that if they have questions, they can consult online with “Shanghai Medical Insurance Digital Human” or call the hotline 12393 for answers. Xian Jiaojing (西安交警) In National Day travel security services, a “Yong’an Jun” large language model digital human was launched, achieving 24/7 online availability to intelligently answer public inquiries about traffic control, parking guidance, public transportation travel, and other matters, while coordinating with the “first violation exemption” measures for six minor traffic violations by non-Xi’an registered drivers, becoming a “travel reference guide in your pocket.” Hunansheng Fulian (湖南省妇联) At the “Smart Sisterhood·AI Creates the Future” 2026 Hunan Women’s New Media Conference, the AI host “Xiangxiang” made a refreshed debut, and the plan “Xiangxiang Online·E-Road Companionship” was released. In the future, through the provincial women’s federation’s digital human “Xiangxiang,” a series of AI short videos will be produced around six major themes including policy interpretation, family education, household management tips, health and hygiene, rights protection services, and life knowledge. In Hubei’s “Artificial Intelligence+” three-year action plan, it also proposed building “AI+ Commercial District” smart complexes and advancing the implementation of “Artificial Intelligence + Hotel” related digital human shopping guide scenarios.

Entertainment and Short Drama Virtual Characters : Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧) is releasing virtual characters from AI manhua dramas out of their storylines to create sustainably operated virtual IP. Lu Chuan, a virtual character from the popular manhua drama “Who’s Still Pretending to Be a Rich Second Generation Now That We’ve All Been Reborn,” launched his first livestream on Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧) App ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival with the theme “A Quiet Night in the Garden,” recreating scenes from the drama and enabling real-time interactions with character accounts from the drama including Zhao Yifan, Han Dong, and Chen Ziao. The livestream drew over 100,000 viewers. Qi You, the AI male lead from the second season of “Surprise! Me and My Sworn Enemy Have a Child Together,” made a surprise appearance in brand Hailan Zhimi (海蓝之谜)’s Qixi livestream on the Red Fruit platform, becoming an early example of bringing a drama-native AI male lead into a brand livestream, with the brand simultaneously placing products in episodes 15, 18, 34, 52, and 60, and leveraging the drama’s “drama goodies” anchor points to enable shopping while watching. Tianmao (天猫) also customized multiple hit manhua IP limited spin-off mini-dramas on the Red Fruit platform during Qixi, integrating brand messaging into the existing story context. Gu Linchuan, the male lead from “He Arrived by Helicopter to Marry Me on Our Wedding Day,” and Su Han, the male lead from “Everyone’s Survival, My Skills Are a Bit Much,” successively appeared on Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧) App in virtual person skin-swap livestream formats, promoting household items and down jackets respectively based on “domineering CEO nanny dad” and “wilderness survival” personas. Meanwhile, Fang Taozi, the virtual female lead from the AI short drama “The Girl Who Was Laid Off,” claimed in first-person in July that contact lenses “felt comfortable all day long,” which triggered an investigation by market regulation authorities in Chuzhou, Anhui, as virtual persons lack actual wearing experience and contact lenses are Class III medical devices; related videos were removed on August 6. Wang Zuxian, who had retired from the industry for years, authorized her image from ages 20-30 during her peak to NetEase, Inc.’s game Tianxia (天下), creating an AI digital persona to recreate the short film “Phantom Shadow” and an in-game digital NPC of Nie Xiaoqian, explicitly stating she will not return to the screen. Subsequently, actors Wu Qihua and You Benzhang followed suit by authorizing their likenesses for AI content creation. Actress Qi Wei proactively authorized her likeness to create a digital alter ego named “Han Qingxia,” proposing that “all digital alter egos are part of the ‘Qi Wei’ brand,” candidly addressing industry controversies triggered by AI actors. Hunanweishi (湖南卫视) and Mangguo TV (芒果TV), in the nomination short film “A Call Across Time” for the 33rd China Television Golden Eagle Awards ceremony, employed AIGC technology to recreate the original voice of classic characters such as “Tong Xiangyu” and “Xu Sanduo,” with characters calling actors to bring Yan Ni to recall her confusion at age 33 when first reading the script for “Martial Arts World,” to move Wang Baoqiang to tears hearing “Report, Platoon Leader,” and to choke Jiang Xin receiving instructions from “Song Ying,” with netizens praising it as the “correct use” of AI in the humanities.

Internet Culture and Fan-Created AI Personas : A heated debate has recently erupted online around the anthropomorphic image of Chinese AI company DeepSeek(DeepSeek). The “D-sensei” character—a suited male butler with blue hair and blue eyes wearing orca headphones, created by artist “Zivu D”—became popular in DeepSeek 2025 and already existed by that time. Leveraging a contrasting persona of being “gentle and compliant on normal occasions but forcefully controlling regarding health issues,” it accumulated substantial fan-created content among otome audiences. On the other side, the character “Mingyue,” originally created by artist “Shangshan Wuxing,” was fed into an AI tool by Bilibili UP host “Zip Zip Pipe” in April this year combined with DeepSeek elements, giving birth to the “whale girl” image in a maid outfit. Her personality traits such as “loves eating plain rice,” “stubborn on the outside but soft-hearted inside,” and “gets furious when called fat” were largely spontaneously “chatted out” by countless users during daily “teasing” and use of DeepSeek, and even DeepSeek company’s HR staff once used the whale girl avatar while working on recruitment platforms. The two images originally developed in their separate communities until an NGA forum post placed them side by side for comparison, sparking controversy over “canonicity” and extreme remarks from some fans. Eventually, artist “Zivu” himself posted a lengthy letter advising fans to keep their fandoms separate and removed the original video.

Marketing and Advertising Regulation : The epidemic of false endorsements by AI digital avatars continues to draw regulatory and public attention. CCTV recently exposed irregularities in AI digital avatar advertising, reporting that online personalities on screen claiming to have “personally tested and verified effectiveness” are actually AI-generated digital virtual figures. Health-related advertisements have become a severely affected area for false promotion, with AI digital avatars being portrayed as “medical workers” and “industry experts” peddling health supplements and contact lenses. Sales pitches divorced from common sense readily mislead middle-aged and elderly patients into discontinuing regular medications in favor of purchasing “miracle drugs.” The People’s Daily likewise published commentary noting that public figures such as “Zhang Wenhong” and “Zhang Boli” have previously fallen victim to “AI face-swapping” fraud for product promotion; now not even an authentic prototype is necessary, as a mere algorithm can conjure an “AI fake doctor” out of thin air to recommend medications or treatments. Fundamentally, this constitutes using false identities to covertly publish medical advertisements in violation of the red lines of the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising. Weifangshi Shichang Jiandu Guanliju (潍坊市市场监督管理局) of Shandong Province responded at a press conference that new business formats including matrix-based operations, cross-platform storefronts, private domain traffic diversion, and AI digital avatar anchors present new challenges to regulatory approaches and evidence-gathering capabilities. Weifang will press network trading platforms to conduct comprehensive self-inspection and self-correction around platform qualification verification, public disclosure of live-streaming room operators’ information, AI digital avatar labeling, and MCN institution management responsibilities, thereby enforcing platforms’ “gatekeeper” duty.

Rights and Licensing of Digital Human Likeness : The AIGC platform Xinzhao (新爪) established this year focuses on portrait collection, rights confirmation, and authorization business, allowing users to license their likenesses for AI-generated content such as advertisements and short dramas, with the platform handling subsequent transactions and copyright management. Xinzhao (新爪) CEO Yu Zilin stated that the company adheres to offline collection to ensure the seriousness of rights confirmation, with the goal of establishing a database of “ten thousand compliant faces” and hopes that both generative platforms and content platforms will recognize and accept the same authorization system in the future, addressing copyright risks from AI-generated faces at their source. He also responded to external controversy regarding terms such as “perpetual licensing,” stating that relevant contract language will be further clarified on duration in conjunction with copyright protection periods, and that minor authorization services have not yet been formally opened. Meanwhile, cases such as Wang Zuxian authorizing an AI digital persona to recreate Nie Xiaoqian and Qi Wei creating a digital alter ego “Han Qingxia” also reflect the emerging trend that actors’ portrait rights are becoming licensable and priceable digital assets.

Enterprise and Industry Digital Human Products : Multiple listed companies involve digital human-related product layouts in their business disclosures. CCTV’s virtual character “Xiaoba” was produced by China Television Media’s controlling subsidiary Zhongshi Beifang (中视北方) using three-dimensional animation technology; the concept sector to which Beijing Fushi Konggu Fazhan (北京福石控股发展股份有限公司) belongs includes virtual digital human-related tags; Xinhuanet established the Xinhua Digital Human Laboratory in 2022, committed to comprehensively building digital humans and conducting full-chain digital human IP operations; Jiafa Jiaoyu (佳发教育) introduced in Easy Interaction replies that its AI English learning assistant enables one-on-one oral practice between students and a 3D smart human teacher, providing personalized tutoring; Hebei Broadcasting and Television Wireless Media disclosed in investor relations statements that it has innovatively developed an AI-based digital human interactive system, completed digital human image capture and modeling, hairstyle and clothing design, and skeleton motion rigging, and combined with large language models to create an interactive engine that enables digital humans to seamlessly integrate into pan-screen applications such as IPTV set-top boxes and OTT; Guao Keji (古鳌科技) confirmed in Easy Interaction that its digital human product is “Guao Finance-Financial Digital Human.”

Companion and Personal AI Agent Platforms : A Shuming Keji ( Wuhan ) (数命科技(武汉)有限公司) company in Wuhan, Hubei, founded by post-90s returnee entrepreneur Luo Biwen, combines museum AI interpreter services with cultural relics card products Mark Yin (Mark印). Visitors can scan codes or use NFC to summon AI digital humans of corresponding cultural relics, enabling bidirectional interactive explanations. The interpreter has been deployed in over 300 museums domestically and internationally, including the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The accompanying cultural relics card product Mark Yin (Mark印) can similarly summon cultural relic digital humans through scanning or NFC, allowing users to listen to cultural relics explain history or share their own stories with the digital humans. The product has sold over one million units in the US market and was selected as a designated gift by WAIC World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) to represent China at the Osaka Expo. Guotaiban (国台办) also uses it as an official gift for cross-strait exchanges. The Luo Biwen team previously launched DD Xingqiu (DD星球), an application that allows customization of virtual digital humans and scenario settings, as well as Jiyang Yizhi Xia (寄养一只虾), a platform for training proprietary AI agents for enterprises and individuals. A mathematics olympiad coach with 40 years of teaching experience fed his pedagogical experience to a proprietary AI agent, resulting in improvements in both problem-solving accuracy and geometric drawing capabilities.