Shanghai sets standards for guiding apps for historic buildings

SHANGHAI — Shanghai rolled out a set of standards on July 11 for tour guiding applications for its hundreds of historic buildings and city landmarks.

The standards, drafted by Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration, are expected to make information about the historic buildings more accessible on mobile devices and provide convenience to tourists all over the world.

According to the standards, guiding service providers should offer QR codes on historic buildings and city landmarks containing basic information of the buildings and their history and cultural significance.

The apps should be compatible with common smart devices and provide multi-media content including text, audio and video. All text should be presented in both Chinese and English, and more language options are encouraged.

So far, QR codes have been added to 351 of Shanghai's 391 most visited historic buildings.

Xu Weiwan, head of Shanghai's tourism administration, said the city would offer more interactive apps for promoting the history and culture of its buildings in the future.