Against the backdrop of the cultural and tourism industry emerging as a pivotal engine for expanding domestic demand, boosting consumption, and improving people’s livelihoods, Wudang Mountain, hailed as “the unparalleled scenic spot since ancient times and the premier sacred mountain under heaven”, is leveraging digital technologies to awaken new vitality in its millennium-old cultural heritage.
Recently, Industrial Bank Co., Ltd. Shiyan Branch approved a credit line of 160 million yuan for the “Digital Wudang” construction project through an innovative guarantee model of data intellectual property pledge. The first tranche of 37 million yuan in loans has been successfully disbursed, effectively channeling the power of financial innovation into the digital protection of cultural heritage and the high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry.
Boasting breathtaking natural landscapes and a large-scale complex of ancient architecture, Wudang Mountain also attracts global tourists with its profound Taoist culture and Wudang martial arts. To implement the requirements for the digital protection and utilization of cultural relics outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Wudang Mountain Culture and Tourism Group launched the forward-looking “Digital Wudang” project.
As reported, this project goes far beyond simple digital documentation. It adopts world-leading air-ground integrated 3D modeling technology to conduct millimeter-level precision data collection across the 312-square-kilometer core area, 42 ancient building complexes, and over 60,000 cultural relics. The initiative aims to establish the world’s most comprehensive digital resource library of Wudang culture and build Hubei Province’s first digital twin system for a world heritage site.
Nevertheless, challenges soon emerged: the core assets of the project are data resources. Stored as 3D models and digital archives on servers, these intangible assets lack tangible collaterals such as land or factories, posing a major obstacle to securing credit support from financial institutions. This predicament turned the valuable yet intangible “digital treasure trove” into an invisible barrier on the path to financing.
A turning point came during a field visit by Industrial Bank Shiyan Branch. Having learned about the project plan and financing needs of “Digital Wudang”, the bank’s financial service team promptly verified the data collection scope and sorted out the data resources. Through multiple rounds of consultations with Wudang Mountain Special Zone and Wudang Mountain Culture and Tourism Group, a key conclusion was reached: these digital resources “sleeping” on servers are precisely the most valuable assets.
Based on this insight, the bank quickly launched a solution-focused initiative and pioneered the data intellectual property pledge model – using legally registered data resources as collateral to transform intangible data into assessable and pledgeable “tangible assets”. Ultimately, this innovation successfully resolved the financing dilemma faced by cultural and tourism digitalization projects characterized by “abundant data but no traditional collateral”.
To expedite fund disbursement, the branch established a full-process green channel: risk assessment personnel were involved in advance, conducting joint due diligence with third-party institutions to accurately evaluate the value and operational risks of data assets. Meanwhile, close coordination was maintained between the municipal and provincial branches to minimize the approval cycle. In short order, the 160 million yuan credit line was approved, and the first loan was injected into the project, providing crucial financial “lifeline” for “Digital Wudang”.
“The registration certificate for the 3D data intellectual property obtained by the project has become a solid credential for financing!” commented the project director with emotion. With the funds in place, “Digital Wudang” will further advance digital applications, create immersive experience scenarios, and realize the permanent preservation, secure sharing, and value conversion of cultural relic resources. This will enable Wudang culture to transcend temporal and spatial boundaries and reach a broader audience.
This mutual collaboration between finance and cultural tourism has set a replicable example of financing innovation for the digital transformation of cultural and tourism industries nationwide. As data evolves into pledgeable and assessable assets, and as financial innovation joins hands with digital technologies, the millennium-old stories of Wudang Mountain are taking flight on the wings of data and finance, extending their reach to distant eras and horizons.