China in 3D
So in my last post, I revisited some Japan regions, this time I thought I’d cross the sea into China, which I did not really do very well in my around the world adventures last year. China is all over the place in Second Life, so much that I even listed it as a cliché in a previous post. For this post, I decided to go the opposite as Japan, and post a modern build first.
First let me say, that unlike Japan, I do not think I would like to visit China. Their draconian censoring of the internet and ban on anonymity makes me sad. Nevertheless, it does not stop me from visiting Chinese themed regions like these…
RMB City officially opened late last month, as an urban build very loosely based on Beijing China. Its not a “mirror world”, and truthfully it is hard to describe. Part art project, part stealth political statement, its … well the official web site says “RMB City is an online art community in the virtual world of Second Life. This project is an experiment exploring the creative relationship between real and virtual space, and is a reflection of China’s urban and cultural explosion.”
Here’s a far away picture of this four server build, but exploring the build on the ground reveals lots of details as well. Here is a representation of a street market I found deep i the build:
According to Koinup, the Mao region was one of the most visited in 2008. The region is one of a group of asian themed builds that also includes the Virgin Island build I featured in last weeks visit to Japan.
The Mao region is simply a representation of the Great Wall of China. Its pretty well done and photographs well, hence the attention it gets.
I decided to be artistic myself and for photo of me and the wall. The Great Wall of China has been represented in SL before, in fact Linden Labs did a great wall on the northern continent that stretches for quite a few servers.
The majority of the real Great Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644), which also built the Forbidden City in Beijing. A near perfect replica of the front gate can be found in SL at beyondspaceandtime.
This pretty build is designed to promote beyondspaceandtime.org a website built by IBM in cooperation with the Chinese Government to educate others on Chinese culture. What they have there is a 200MB download that allows you to explore the entire forbidden city in 3D. The SL build is merely the front gate and represents maybe 5% of the entire forbidden city.
Ever the consumate virtual explorer, I decided to venture outside of Second Life and check out the program. Here are some screenshots:
This screenshot was taken at approximately the same spot in the Forbidden City as the SL picture was taken. I am dressed in male peasant clothes. In keeping with Ming Dynasty rules, females are not seen in the Forbidden City, so I have to wear a disguise.
Sneaking my way past the main courtyard, headed toward the palace.
This is a full screen shot showing the interface. Throughout the build, there are representations of Chinese life, though I am not sure what “Cricket Fighting” is. Maybe I should look it up?
