Chinese museum opens up digital database of 2,000-year-old tombs

The Hunan Museum made the digital database on the world-famous Mawangdui Tombs available to colleges and companies on Monday, becoming the latest Chinese museum aiming to turn archaeological finds into popular cultural brands.

The museum in Central China's Hunan Province will allow two colleges and 12 companies, including popular tea brand Sexy Tea and online video platform Mango TV, to freely use the digital resources of Mawangdui.

Located in the provincial capital Changsha, Mawangdui houses the grand tombs of the Marquis of Dai during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), as well as his wife and son.

The site gained international attention in the 1970s when researchers opened a coffin and found a female corpse that showed no signs of decay. The corpse, now preserved in the museum, is said to be that of a woman named Lady Xin Zhui, the wife of the Marquis of Dai.

The museum on Monday also inked deals with more than 30 teams in the cultural and creative industry to develop digital products related to life 2,000 years ago, drawing inspiration from the over 3,000 artifacts unearthed at the tombs, including garments, musical instruments and medical prescriptions once used in the Han Dynasty.