Yingmi has customized a tour guide solution that supports automatic explanations in 7 languages. The device is low-temperature-resistant, has a long battery life, and the content also has stories.
I. The Thousand-year-old temple Conceals difficulties in guiding Tours
Beside the crowds turning around Barkhor Street, the golden roof of the Jokhang Temple can be seen from the alley entrance. It has stood for over 1,300 years, and the golden roof is warm and cozy under the sunlight. In front of the eight-year-old life-sized statue of Sakyamuni in the main hall, there is always a butter lamp. The Tang Dynasty steles in the courtyard are engraved with characters from the Tubo period, and the flying apsaras and ribbons on the murals are still moving. Every year, hundreds of thousands of global tourists come for this “Tibetan flavor”, but when it comes to spreading the culture, it is always hindered by problems:
1.The “understanding gap” of multiple languages
Tourists come from all over: believers from Europe and America want to understand Buddhist stories, scholars from Japan and South Korea want to study the history of Xizang, and ordinary tourists just want to know “what is depicted in this mural?” Before, only Tibetan and Chinese could be spoken in the temple. There were only two English guides a day, and for other languages, only paper manuals were available – with just a few lines of text and few pictures. Last summer, a German tourist squatted in front of the “Padmasambhava’s Preaching Picture”, pointing at the ritual tool in the master’s hand. His phone screen was lit up with a translation software. He kept flipping through it but still frowned. Finally, he said to his companion, “Such a beautiful picture, I don’t even know what it’s about. What a pity!”
2. Passive Following of the Tour Rhythm
In traditional group Tours, tourists have to follow the route. If the tour guide says, “Stop here for 10 minutes,” tourists can’t even touch the inscriptions on the Tang Dynasty steles for a longer time. An American tourist later wrote in his travelogue: “As soon as I saw the four characters’ Zhenguan Period ‘on the stele clearly, the tour guide urged me to leave. In the travelogue, he even drew a little crying face and said,’ What I missed was not only the year, but also the story hidden on the stele. ‘” With such a rush, how could overseas tourists calm down? Before even the aroma of the butter in the ancient temple could be fully smelled, one had to go down.
3. The “Interference Problem” of Environmental Noise
The main hall of the Jokhang Temple is not large to begin with. During peak season, several groups are crowded together, with Chinese and English mixed and noisy, and even the Chinese explanations are hard to hear clearly. Master Zhuoma, who was in charge of the reception, said, “Once, in order to hear clearly, tourists crowded around the tour guide in a circle, blocking all the worshiping believers. The masters could only gently persuade them, but there was nothing they could do.” With such a quarrel, not only is there no way to pass on the culture, but even the tranquility that a temple should have is gone.
4. “Equipment Adaptation” for High altitudes
Lhasa is at an altitude of over 3,600 meters. In winter, the temperature drops to -10 ℃ and it is very dry. Electronic devices will “throw a tantrum” here. Previously, other tour guide machines were tried in the temple. They were turned on at 9 a.m. but ran out of power by 11 a.m. One time when the temperature dropped, the machine froze into a black screen. Tourists, holding the frozen device, could only follow others to listen to some fragmented information. “Surely we can’t let tourists carry useless machines around the temple?” ” When Master Zhuoma brought up this matter, her tone was filled with helplessness.
These problems are like a veil, enveloping the thousand-year-old culture of the Jokhang Temple – overseas tourists can see the golden summit and the murals, but they cannot understand or fully appreciate the stories and secrets within.
Ii. Yingmi’s “Customized Solution for Xizang” : Full Adaptation from Technology to scenarios
When the masters at the Jokhang Temple talked to us about these difficulties, we didn’t dare to directly use the existing system to make up for it – after all, the situation in Xizang is too special. A small team was specially formed and stayed in Lhasa for 20 days with equipment: during the day, they followed Master Zhuoma to visit temples, clearly remembering “which stele tourists lingered in front of and which mural was asked about the most”. In the evening, I went to the teacher from the Xizang Cultural Research Institute to refine the content, even confirming the meaning of the butter lamp clearly. Only then did I come up with this plan that fits the Tibetan region:
1.Multilingual + automatic sensing: Making cultural interpretation “barrier-free”
The tour guide supports seven languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan and Chinese. Overseas tourists can choose their native language and don’t need to press any buttons. When they reach the scenic spot, it will automatically ring. Standing in front of the eight-year-old life-sized statue of Sakyamuni, they will softly say, “This Buddha was brought by Princess Wencheng. Look at the carving of the clothing patterns. It’s still the style of the Tang Dynasty and has remained unchanged for a thousand years.” Squatting beside the Tang Dynasty stele, one would say, “The stele records how the Jokhang Temple was built, which is old evidence of the joint efforts of the Han and Tibetan people.”
To avoid making mistakes, we also invited Tibetan language teachers and Buddhist experts from Xizang University to scrutinize each sentence one by one. For instance, when it comes to the colors of murals, they would deliberately say, “The red ones are made of cinnabar, and the blue ones are lapis lazuli. Back then, these materials were either transported from the inland areas or brought from the Western Regions. They are extremely precious.” They were afraid that due to the differences in culture, tourists might misunderstand. A Japanese tourist, after trying it out, held the tour guide and told us, “Even the ‘flying ribbon represents good luck’ was mentioned. It’s even more detailed than the Xizang travel guide book I bought in Tokyo!”
2. High-altitude adaptation: Addressing the pain points of “battery life and stability”
In response to the weather in Lhasa, we have specially modified the equipment: the battery uses low-temperature cells, which can last for 8 hours even at -10 ℃ in winter, from the opening to the closing of the temple. The shell was replaced with wear-resistant ABS material. Once a tourist accidentally dropped it on the stone-paved road, but it was still usable after being picked up. In terms of signal, the Angle of the antenna has been adjusted. No matter how thick the brick and wood structure of the main hall is, it will not get stuck.
Master Zaxi, who is in charge of the equipment, is the most qualified to speak: “Previously, other machines would shut down as soon as they froze in winter when they came here. But this Yingmi, when carried in a Tibetan robe, still had enough power for an entire afternoon of use. It never froze even in the morning when the temperature was -8 ℃.” One time, an old grandma put the machine in the inner pocket of her Tibetan robe and walked around the entire temple. The battery was still more than half left.
3. Lightweight design: Meeting the demand for “quiet sightseeing”
The temple should be quiet, and the volume of the audio guide machine should be adjustable so that it won’t disturb others even at its maximum volume. The body weighs only 90 grams, even lighter than a mobile phone. Tourists can easily wear it around their necks or hold it in their hands. There are only three buttons: change language and adjust volume. Even elderly people who haven’t used electronic devices much can do it. Once, a 70-something Tibetan grandma followed her grandson to choose the English mode and adjusted it by pressing two buttons herself. She even joked with us, “This thing is simpler than a radio.”
A French tourist deliberately chose the Tibetan mode. After listening, he read along softly to the mural, “The machine is very light. Even after holding it for a long time, I don’t get tired. I can use it without reading the manual. It’s so convenient.”
Iii. Content Refinement: Make the explanation “warm and not stiff”
We know that a tour guide is not just about “talking”. The content it explains should have the “warmth of Xizang” – don’t just list knowledge points in a dry way. It should be something that overseas tourists can listen to and resonate with.
1. Incorporate a “sense of story” : Bring history to life
The explanation included many old stories: When Princess Wencheng brought the Buddha statue, she would mention, “At that time, the Buddha statue was placed in a gilded copper box. When walking from Chang ‘an to Tubo, in places with strong winds and sand, the escort would wrap the box with wool felt to prevent it from getting bumped or knocked.” When talking about murals, I would insert a sentence: “Ancient painters spent three years completing this one. Before starting work every day, they would recite sutras, hoping that the Bodhisattvas in the painting would protect the temple.”
These stories are really touching. An American tourist, after listening to the painter’s story, stood in front of the mural and looked at it for a long time, saying, “Now when I look at these colors again, I feel the warmth of the painter’s hand still on them.”
2. Balancing “faith and respect” : In line with the atmosphere of the temple
When discussing religious content, we are particularly cautious – for instance, when it comes to Buddha statues, we would remind, “Don’t touch them with your hands. This is a sign of respect for your faith.” When speaking the ritual implements, it is added, “These are for rituals and cannot be photographed.” The abbot of the Jokhang Temple said, “They didn’t add anything for the sake of excitement. Even the old rule of ‘Don’t step on the threshold during worship’ was included in the explanation. They understand our rules, which is particularly good.”
Once, I saw a South Korean tourist. After listening to the explanation, he gently bowed to the Buddha statue and even turned down the volume of the audio guide to avoid disturbing others. This is probably the meaning of “respect”.
3. Adapt to “overseas perception” : Reduce cultural barriers
Overseas tourists are not familiar with Tibetan culture, so more background information should be added in the explanations. For instance, when it comes to the “Tubo period”, one might say, “It was probably the Tang Dynasty in the interior. At that time, Han and Tibetan people often exchanged gifts and learned skills from each other.” When it comes to “lapis lazuli”, it would explain that “this stone was transported from Afghanistan at that time and was more expensive than gold. It was only used in important murals.
Tourists don’t need to look up additional information; they can understand it just by listening to the explanations. A German tourist said, “Before, I only knew that there were temples in Xizang. Now I understand that in these buildings and murals, there are all stories of Han and Tibetan people working together.”
Iv. Data and Word-of-Mouth: Visible Experience Upgrades
The system was put into use at the Jokhang Temple for six months, and the changes were obvious: overseas tourists stayed for a significantly longer time – previously, they left on average after 50 minutes, but now they can stay for 95 minutes. On the registration book at the temple entrance, many people wrote, “We stayed for nearly two hours and listened to all the explanations.” Thirty percent of the tourists will listen repeatedly, especially at the life-sized statues and Tang steles, where there are always people standing to listen a second time.
The positive review rate of the multilingual service has reached 94%. The guestbook is full of words: A German tourist wrote, “Finally, I understand the story of the mural. This is the best day I have had in Xizang.” A Japanese tourist drew a golden roof of the Jokhang Temple, with the words “The explanation is very detailed. Thank you.” written beside it.
The noise in the main hall has decreased significantly. The previous complaints about “not being able to hear clearly” have disappeared, and the believers also say, “It’s much quieter to visit the temple now.” Master Zhuoma’s workload has decreased by 40%. She no longer needs to repeatedly explain to tourists “what is written on this stele”, and can spend more time chatting about Buddhism with believers.
The abbot told us, “Once, a Nepalese monk, after listening to the English explanation, specially came to us to talk about Buddhism and said, ‘I didn’t know that the Jokhang Temple and the temples in our area have so many connections.’ This is what culture looks like when it spreads.”
V. Yingmi’s “Globalization Assurance” : Allowing Overseas Users to “Use with Confidence”
Having worked on overseas projects for so many years, we know that “if the equipment is good, the service must keep up”, especially in a place like Lhasa that is far from the mainland.
1.Compliance qualifications: In line with international standards
Our tour guide devices have passed international certifications such as CE and ROHS. They are used in museums in Europe and America. Previously, we have also provided services for the British Museum and Huawei’s overseas exhibition halls. When overseas tourists take the equipment, they can scan the QR code on the body of the device to view the certification, and there is no need to worry about “non-compliance”. A French tourist said after scanning, “I have also seen this kind of certification in museums in Europe. I feel at ease using it.”
2. Localized after-sales service: Eliminating “worries”
We have set up an after-sales service point in Lhasa, near Barkhor Street. If there is any problem with the equipment, we will definitely arrive within two hours. They also offer 7×24-hour customer service in both Chinese and English. Tourists can reach them by sending emails or making phone calls. Last month, a South Korean tourist didn’t know how to switch languages. He made a phone call and learned it in just 10 minutes. He said, “I never expected that in Lhasa, I could find someone who knows Korean so quickly to help. It’s so unexpected.”
Conclusion: Technology serves as a bridge, enabling the thousand-year-old culture to “go global”
Once at the Jokhang Temple, I saw a French tourist, after listening to the explanation of the Tang Dynasty stele, take a photo of it and post it on his Moments with the caption, “So there are so many stories of Han and Tibetan people hidden here.” This is probably the significance of what we do.
The audio guide machine of Yingmi is here. It is not a cold machine but a “sound bridge” : it enables French tourists to understand the stories behind the murals, allows Japanese scholars to see the history of Tang Dynasty steles, and enables American travelers to smell the faith in the aroma of butter.
In the future, we will continue to do this – for more temples and more cultural sites, we will refine the plan more finely, so that global tourists can “understand the true flavor of every cultural heritage site”. After all, good cultural transmission should not have language barriers, let alone regrets. And we just want to help get rid of all these regrets.