The Guangdong Folk Arts Museum, based in the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall in Guangzhou, has launched an AI glasses smart-guide project for visitors. Guangzhou Daily described it as the first AI glasses guide in a South China museum and in a historic-building museum in China.
Visitors wake the glasses by tapping the right temple or calling "Chen Xiaofu". The glasses recognise the exhibit in front of the wearer, play voice commentary and show synchronised green subtitles in front of the eyes.
How the guide works
Deputy Director Zeng Siping said the glasses provide automatic commentary at venue points, photo recognition of objects, free multi-turn question-and-answer and group simultaneous-interpretation guiding. The guide draws on a knowledge base specific to the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, into which the museum fed the dozens of books it has published over the years.
- 9 proactive push points along the route send commentary automatically when a visitor arrives at the matching spot
- 11 built-in language modes, including Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish
Visitor use
Over the first two days of the 2026 National Day holiday, the AI glasses guide served nearly 300 visits a day. Students have also tried the glasses, including the "Chen Xiaofu" smart-guide function, at the hall.
