Feb 2020

A CAN Production

A live, immersive audio tour through Chinatown with augmented reality visuals and miniature dramas behind the facades.

London’s Chinatown, and the area it sits in, has been the stage for a multitude of stories over its constantly evolving history. Augmented Chinatown 2.0 brings some of those stories to life in an immersive augmented reality experience that mixes striking visuals, miniature audio dramas, atmospheric music, and a guided tour through the area’s past and present and how it became the centre of the Chinese community in London.

“Walkthrough Chinatown and see beneath the surface it presents… walk through these streets and think about the dreams that have brought people here… People seeking a new home, love, and fortune. People seeking comfort, familiarity, kinship, community.”

Start the tour in Newport Place and walk the streets guided via your phones by writer and narrator, Joel Tan. Over the course of an hour, Tan’s narration looks at Chinatown’s history, architecture, and culture, as well as ideas about belonging, identity and migration. He evokes the sensory impact of the streets, the ornate decorations, the tempting smells and tastes, and distinctive sounds. He takes us to the four gates, only the last of which was created by Chinese artists, and tells how the iconic pagoda was demolished in 2015 without consultation.

At five locations along the way, there is the opportunity to delve deeper into hidden dramas and, for a few minutes, plunge into the lives of characters including Kim, a stripper who met the Beatles; Anita, a homesick waitress; and a woman whose home is being raided by immigration officials.

Donald Shek’s augmented reality adds another dimension, creating dazzling visual overlays in the real-life environment. Tall flowers blossom from the pavement, lanterns light up overhead and newspaper banners hang down from the buildings. The sound score, composed by An-Ting Chang with DJ QuestionMark, includes interactive elements in response to both augmented reality and miniature dramas.