Wētā Workshop Designed TCM Cultural Experience Center Opens In Guangdong China

From the lotus petal-shaped building to the larger-than-life hyper-realistic figures, magical forests, and a futuristic herbal laboratory — these are just some of the aspects of the new TCM Cultural Experience Center designed by Richard Taylor and his team at Wētā Workshop, working in close collaboration with Wellington and China-based creative practitioners and companies. This unique and striking center opened on Saturday 19 July at the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park, China.

The Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park features a mix of facilities, including offices, R&D centres, hotels, retail streets, an experience centre, pharmaceutical plants, testing and extraction centres, and staff apartments.

As a core part of the park, the five-storey TCM Cultural Experience Center, with a floor area of 36,000 square metres, is the flagship of its health sector and a powerful symbol of cultural integration in the Greater Bay Area.

This new TCM Cultural Experience Center offers a fully immersive experience that brings the culture of traditional Chinese medicine to life, guiding visitors on a journey from its mythological origins to the advancements in modern practices, and on into thefuture. This natural approach to medicine is a critically important part of Chinese wellbeing, and the TCM Cultural Experience Center aims to inspire future generations to learn about this important cultural practice. Taylor, alongside creative collaborator Sam Gao, worked over seven years to realise the project in close collaboration with client Hengxin Shambala.

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Wētā Workshop’s Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Richard Taylor, says, “For me it was critical to approach the subject with a deep sense of commitment, and to learn all that I could of the mythology, history, science, and culture of this fascinating subject.

By exploring the use of herbal medicine over centuries of Chinese wellbeing, a complex and intriguing story begins to unfold.”

The TCM Cultural Experience Center is Wētā Workshop’s largest project to date, and their second large-scale immersive experience project in China, following the completion of their award-winning work on Aura: The Forest at the Edge of the Sky at the duty-free shopping mall in Haikou, on Hainan Island in 2022. The TCM Cultural Experience Center is especially significant for Taylor and the team at Wētā Workshop, not only due to the size and scale of the project, but the extent to which the team researched and designed the experience, from the uniquely designed building itself, through to the cultural narratives within its spaces.

Taylor adds, “As I have spent close to three decades working in China, it came as an extraordinary treat to work so comprehensively on something as monumental as this experience. What started as a white board drawing in my office now stands as a magnificent structure containing an utterly unique cultural exhibition.”

“This was a very special project that is testament to the tight collaboration and creative exchange between two teams — one in New Zealand, and one in China — united by the collective endeavour of creating the world’s most unique TCM Cultural Experience Center,” Taylor adds.

Wētā Workshop’s head of creative media, Sam Gao, worked closely with Taylor on both creative direction and hands-on sculpting elements and says, “Despite the challenges of often having to work remotely, the project was immensely fulfilling and brought together people from China mainland and Macau, alongside our own Workshop team in New Zealand.”

“On a more personal level, it was an honour to share my creative expertise on a project that celebrates traditional Chinese medicine and brings to life stories from my cultural upbringing,” Gao adds.

The TCM Cultural Experience Center experience starts before guests enter, with its unique building design paying homage to the herbal plants that are critical to traditional Chinese medicine. Within the building guests encounter a multitude of exhibits, including a large number of hyper-realistic up-scaled figures representing key moments from Chinese culture including Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing and Li Shi Zhen.

A 50-metrre-long animated ‘historical tapestry’ is just one of several features which skilfully combine artistry and interactive smart tech throughout the building. The stunning central atrium showcases the story of Shen Nong with a large-scale mural on the ceiling, with 100 birds flying down towards the ground floor, connecting all five levels of the building.

Working alongside collaborator Sam Gao, Taylor and Gao strived to facilitate and connect two teams of creatives. Providing design and fabrication services from their base in Wellington, Wētā Workshop worked with New Zealand-based designers, musical composer, architects, and lighting designers to work alongside them during this unprecedented project. In collaboration with client Shambala, Taylor and Gao also art directed dozens of highly skilled Chinese creatives and technicians to complete the center.

Taylor adds, “This project is the cumulation of a near three-decade long relationship that I have had with China, and celebrates the strong creative exchange we have established with friends and colleagues in both countries.”

The TCM Cultural Experience Center adds to Wētā Workshop’s growing portfolio of immersive experiences work globally, with significant projects in New Zealand, China and the Middle East.

About Wētā Workshop 
Wētā Workshop brings imaginary worlds to life by delivering concept design, physical effects, collectibles, immersive visitor experiences, creative media and digital games to the world’s entertainment and creative industries. Established by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger in 1987, they are best known for their screen work on The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, the Avatar films, District 9 and Dune to name a few. Their work in immersive visitor experiences, such as Gallipoli: The Scale of our War, Expo 2020 Dubai’s Mobility Pavilion, Aura: Forest at the Edge of the Sky and Wētā Workshop Unleashed. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Wētā Workshop’s ground-breaking work has earned them multiple international awards including five Oscars and three THEA awards. www.wetaworkshop.com

About the TCM Cultural Experience Center 
The TCM Cultural Experience Center is the world’s first large-scale TCM-focused experience that offers an immersive journey through an informative and visually unique experience. Designed by Richard Taylor, creative director, five-time Academy Award winner and co-founder of Wētā Workshop, the centre delivers a fantastical experience that celebrates in the culture, mythology, science and history of traditional Chinese medicine.

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