This extended reality (XR) project, Root-Seeking 尋根 , symbolises a broader quest for cultural, historical, or spiritual origins—especially among Chinese diaspora communities. Led by Daichen Wang, this XR project, explores how immersive virtual environments can support cultural and emotional connection for the Chinese diaspora through a highly poetic, interactive reconstruction of a classical Chinese garden, reimagined as a speculative future environment. Developed in Unity 2022.3 and deployed on Meta Quest 3, Root-Seeking 尋根 is an experiential, multisensory environment that engages users through gesture, sound, and narrative poetic interaction. It draws from the traditional aesthetics and spatial logics of Jichang Garden in Wuxi, China, serving as both a symbolic and technical scaffold for a virtual site of belonging. While a pivotal part of the project is to preserve ancient history of Jichang, this XR project goes one step further, by deploying Jichang as a prototype for a new speculative future virtual garden, a reflective and contemplative virtual space that can assist the Chinese diaspora in the attainment of Root-Seeking 尋根 by remote, being accessible through VRChat from anywhere in the world.

This project explores how historic landscape artifacts might serve not only as cultural archives but also as prototypes for future design, offering generative principles that can inform new spatial experiences. This project contributes to emerging XR research by demonstrating how heritage sites can be reimagined as postgeographic sanctuaries—spaces where displaced individuals can engage in digital rituals of return, cultural memory, and collective identity formation. 

Understanding Heritage as a Future Model for a Virtual Garden

Preserving the cultural artifacts of Jichang Garden through digital scanning is essential for safeguarding both tangible and intangible heritage. As a classical Chinese garden with centuries of design evolution, Jichang embodies spatial philosophies, aesthetic values, and cultural narratives that are deeply embedded in its architecture, vegetation, water features, and stone arrangements. These elements are not static relics but dynamic expressions of Chinese cosmology, philosophy, and landscape art. The screenshots below show how the original artifacts were used as inspiration for the VRChat world of Root-Seeking 尋根

Below is a small selection of some of the important heritage artifacts from Jichang garden being preserved in Root-Seeking 尋根. For a full catalogue visit:

https://sketchfab.com/Yearwalk/models

Stone Lion Holding a Ball in Its Paws Jichang G… by Daichen Wang on Sketchfab

Chinese Guardian Statute 1 Jichang Garden by Daichen Wang on Sketchfab

https://sketchfab.com/models/f3f8904c337044a6afb2f50ef4df0d31/embed

Stone Lion 1 right Jichang Garden by Daichen Wang on Sketchfab

Stone Carving with Chinese Characters ‘Cang Shu… by Daichen Wang on Sketchfab

Chinese – style Traditional Stone – carved Deco… by Daichen Wang on Sketchfab

drum-shaped bearing stone (Bao Gu Shi) by Daichen Wang on Sketchfab

Digital scanning technologies enable the precise capture of the garden’s intricate geometries and spatial compositions. This process creates high-resolution, three-dimensional point cloud models that record the artefacts in their current condition with millimetre accuracy. Such digital archives are critical for conservation planning, allowing for analysis of changes over time due to erosion, human impact, or climate change.

Moreover, these digital models serve as foundational data for education, virtual reconstruction, and public engagement. They allow researchers and designers to interpret the garden’s visual and spatial logic, inform restoration strategies, and create immersive experiences—such as VR simulations—that extend access beyond geographic and physical constraints. In an era of global displacement and environmental vulnerability, digitally preserving sites like Jichang Garden ensures that their cultural significance can be sustained, reimagined, and shared with future generations.

Acknowledgements:

The Root-Seeking 尋根 research project, led by Daichen Wang, is a multi-year project supported by the XR Screen Futures Hub at the School of Creative Arts, Queensland University of Technology. Daichen is joined on the team by Dr. Rewa Wright, Prof. Gavin Sade and Prof. Damian Candusso.