7 October 2026 News

Entertainment : Jiuyou - Yule Rukou Guanwang Guanfangwangzhan (九游-娱乐入口官网官方网站) is planned to be held in September 2026 at the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center, featuring a “Digital Human/Virtual Idol Stage” where Yuehua Entertainment’s girl group A-SOUL will perform on stage in holographic form alongside real performers in mixed performances, with AI driving facial microexpressions and body movements in real time. ByteDance “Doubao (豆包)” interactive system enables audiences to converse with virtual characters in natural language and influence the direction of performances. Zaomengshi (造梦师)-incubated leading virtual idol KONG adopts a “real human core + virtual skin suit” model, driving the virtual image through real performers and real-time motion capture technology. Tickets for a meet-and-greet held at Shanghai Jing’an Sports Center sold out within seconds, and it has achieved cross-industry collaborations with Huana Yinyue Zhongguo (华纳音乐中国) and Ruyi Dianying (儒意电影), appearing on mainstream stages including Bazaar Night. Zaomengshi (造梦师) previously incubated virtual girl group A-SOUL has garnered over 25 million fans across the internet. Additionally, DeepSeek underwent a Logo recognition mishap that was reinterpreted by netizens into a “blue fat fish” virtual image; due to its stream-of-consciousness thinking pattern that closely mirrors real human psychological activity, it significantly led other candidate images in community voting, with the official account actively embracing this user-co-created virtual persona.

Cultural Heritage : The 10th Zhongguoxiqu Wenhuazhou (中国戏曲文化周) was held at Beijing Garden Expo Park, with AI digital humans “Xi Bao” and “Ximai (戏脉)” agents participating in performances across all segments of the opera week. The opera short drama “Shock Dream Express Line,” produced by Guo Jingyu, employs real-person-plus-AI technology to present Beijing opera garden fantasy themes through character costume changes and three-dimensional monster scenes, exploring an innovative model of “transmitting culture through drama and driving tourism through drama.” On Chengdu Guoji Shuzi Guangying Yishujie (成都国际数字光影艺术节), artist Wei Jiu’s “Urban Illusion Project” features a giant virtual digital human standing within a light-and-shadow waterfall screen gazing across space at audiences, becoming a popular check-in spot in the park. Virtual host Gu Xiaoyu made an appearance at Zhejiang Television and the Second Global Digital Trade Expo, exploring offline extension models for classic variety show IP going global. Nanjing’s Changjiang Road Cultural and Creative Street launched digital human “Ning Xiaoxuan,” allowing visitors to scan codes to activate the virtual image on screen and use it as a dedicated AI travel “buddy” for leisurely strolls. The Xianggang Huafu Jianianhua (香港华服嘉年华) held at Beijing Fenghuangling Scenic Area introduced AR motion capture technology, enabling visitors to generate personalized “stilt digital avatars” on-site, achieving a combination of online interaction and offline processions. Heilongjiang Jixi’s Jingjinji Feiyi Youyuanhui (京津冀非遗游园会) renovation project integrates holographic digital humans, VR mine tours, and light-and-shadow shows, transforming the old industrial plant area into an immersive cultural tourism space. 130 Gongye Jiequ (130工业街区)

Public Services : At the 2026 China Open Tennis Tournament, Lenovo deployed a digital human intelligent customer service based on edge-cloud hybrid architecture on the Diamond Court, supporting multimodal interaction through voice and touch, providing spectators with services including match schedule inquiries, competition updates, and park dining guidance—marking the first on-court deployment of this digital human solution at the China Open; the player rest area features a coffee robot deployed by Jingqi Yunji Keji (京企云迹科技) equipped with a smiling virtual shop attendant avatar that provides customized beverage services for players. During National Day holiday operations, Xian Gongan Jiaojing (西安公安交警), in addition to opening dedicated driving test sessions, provided 24-hour Q&A service through the digital human “Yong’an Jun” to address inquiries from residents and tourists. Hangzhou (杭州), in advancing integrated ideological and political education across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, plans to bring AI teaching assistants into ideological and political classrooms, upgrade the “Xingxiaosi (行小思)” intelligent agent, and in veteran red ideological propaganda lectures, launched the AI digital human “Binbing” in Binjiang District to explore new models of digitalized red education. 2026 Nian Guojia Wangluoanquan Xuanchuanzhou (2026年国家网络安全宣传周) was held in Jinan, Shandong, where the event organized interactive experiences including “AI replica digital humans,” promoting the inclusive sharing of cybersecurity technology achievements through human-machine interaction.

Enterprise : Guangzhou Zhongyi Technology is a manufacturer focused on customizing intelligent digital avatars, with products covering 3D digital human solutions deployed across terminals such as holographic cabins and interactive screens, serving scenarios including government service halls, medical guidance, and cultural tourism navigation. The company has previously been deployed in projects at Shenzhen North Railway Station VIP waiting area and Kunming Military Retirement Exhibition Hall. Zhejiang Nongshang Lianhe Yinhang (浙江农商联合银行) publicly bid for virtual digital human platform software maintenance and person-day technical service projects, demonstrating sustained investment by the banking industry in digital human infrastructure. The Zhang Lu team under Soul App released SoulX large model series technical achievements on Huawei Quan Lianjie Dahui 2026 (华为全联接大会2026), covering capabilities including speech generation, full-duplex real-time interaction, and real-time digital human generation, and jointly released an intelligent audio-video real-time interaction solution with Huawei Yun (华为云), leveraging ModelArts training and inference computing power support from Huawei Yun (华为云) to continuously iterate interaction technology. Suzhoushi Xiangchengqu Huangqiao Jiedao (苏州市相城区黄桥街道) jointly held with Suzhou Mu Yangzi Yingshi Chuanmei (苏州木样子影视传媒) company the “Digital Intelligence Filmmaking · Technology Symbiosis” AI and Live-Action Short Drama Technology Exchange and Investment Promotion Conference, where participants engaged in in-depth discussions on the application of AI in digital human generation and scene construction within short drama production workflows, copyright risk prevention, and differentiated positioning between digital human and live-action short drama tracks.

Media & Film : Actor Qi Wei discussed her AI digital avatar “Han Qingxia” in a video podcast, candidly acknowledging that after scrutinizing it from a professional actor’s critical perspective, she was struck by how the AI’s performance surpassed her own in certain scenes. She emphasized that AI will not lead to large-scale unemployment among actors, but rather will redefine the performance industry. AI avatars are better suited for depicting high-difficulty scenes like post-apocalyptic spectacles and practical filming scenarios. She stressed that quality standards and portrait authorization rights must remain in the hands of the individual. Within Hengdian Yingshicheng (横店影视城) in Dongyang, Zhejiang, AI digital human generation and virtual filming technology have been deployed at scale, with production crews using LED virtual shooting studios and AI digital human technology to generate background crowds and war scenes at the scale of tens of thousands of people, significantly reducing the number of traditional extras and prompting the local registered extra population of over one hundred thousand to transition into roles as special actors, micro-drama supporting actors, and behind-the-scenes technical positions. Shanghaishi Guangbodianshiju (上海市广播电视局) organized a Shanghai joint exhibition at the 30th Xianggang Guoji Yingshi Zhan FILMART (香港国际影视展FILMART), bringing the latest applications in virtual production, AI-generated content, and digital human technology, showcasing Shanghai film and television enterprises’ exploration in industrial technology fields, with Mutong Keji (沐瞳科技) and other Shanghai leading micro-drama enterprises simultaneously showcasing entertainment IP matrices.

Marketing : Brands are exploring “drama-embedded” marketing models on Hongguo Duanju (红果短剧) platforms, with LA MER Hailan Zhimi (LA MER海蓝之谜) collaborating with AI manga drama “Shocking! Me and My Rival Have a Child Season 2,” inviting the male lead Qi You to enter brand livestream rooms in virtual character form and continue the drama’s character relationships to complete gift box marketing; the male lead Lu Chuan from AI manga drama “Everyone’s Reborn, Who’s Pretending to be Rich Now” leverages Red Fruit’s exclusive AI virtual character skin-swapping livestream technology to use algorithms to replace character images and voice tones in real time upon entering livestream rooms, interacting with other character accounts and attracting over 100,000 viewers. Zhongyin Xianggang (中银香港) invited singer Chen Lei to serve as Digital One Zhisheng Yichou (Digital One智勝一籌) star ambassador, showcasing the AI digital human market information video feature built into its mobile banking platform’s new fund platform in promotional materials to help customers obtain investment information. Baidu revamped Baijia Hao (百家号), which had been operating for ten years, into Baidu Zhibo Banlv (百度直播伴侣), and upgraded its digital human livestream platform Huiboxing (慧播星) into Baidu Yijing (百度一镜), which integrates digital human livestreaming, digital human video and real-time interactive capabilities; previously, the platform’s digital human livestream debut featuring Luo Yonghao brought over 13 million viewers and 55 million yuan in GMV, and Baidu will also output this digital human livestream technology to external platforms including TikTok.