Feature: Metaverse tech brings sci-fi feel to industrial relics in Beijing

A 3D metaverse show offered visitors a unique and thrilling experience when touring a steel mill repurposed into a cultural and sports complex in suburban Beijing that will soon host some of the world's top athletes in the coming weeks.

Hailing a pilotless minibus and shuttling through the rusty, out-of-use steel furnaces and brand-new ski jump venue built for the upcoming Winter Olympics, one can drop by a spot called Sangaolu, which literally means the "Third Shaft Furnace," in Shougang Park.

The 107-meter-tall furnace with an 80-meter-wide cone base and diagonal iron coal conveyor belt running down from the top of the structure has been utilized as the backdrop for an augmented reality show.

Holding a cellphone or tablet installed with the Huawei AR Map app, visitors can instantly see the steel behemoth turn into a virtual world.

Once in the metaverse, the conveyor belt is encircled by colorful rings of varying sizes, reminiscent of a racetrack in the runner game Subway Surfers. Above, a UFO and two giant mecha starships are cruising, all ready to land.

Also, virtual slogans floating in the air read "Welcome to the Metaverse Center," "Future with Infinite Possibilities" and "Olympic Sports for City Development."

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