Alibaba Launches AI Project to Digitally Recreate Ancient Murals
Alibaba, along with partners including the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, has initiated "Ancient Murals Come to Life," a project using AI for digital recreation of historical wall paintings.
Chinese technology company Alibaba has launched a project named "Ancient Murals Come to Life" (古壁生辉), partnering with institutions like the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts and others. The initiative utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to digitally recreate historical wall paintings.
Alibaba clarified that the AI is not performing "restoration" in the traditional sense, as physical intervention on ancient murals is highly sensitive. Instead, the AI is used for digital recreation, aiming to produce visually rich interpretations without altering the original artifacts.
The first mural to undergo this digital recreation is a Five Dynasties period artwork located in the Dayunyuan Temple in Pingshun, Shanxi province. This specific mural is noted as the sole surviving example of its kind from that era and is considered crucial for understanding the evolution of Chinese painting between the late Tang Dynasty and the early Song Dynasty.
The project employs the "Wanxiang Wan 2.7-Image" AI model. This technology identifies and cleans weathering effects, infers original compositions in damaged areas, and generates new images that adhere to the original artwork's style. The AI tool has been trained on extensive mural data and is now available to mural practitioners nationwide via the "Duiyou" platform.