Introduction
Located on a small offshore island in Sai Kung near Kau Sai Chau, Yim Tin Tsai is a traditional Hakka village of the Chan's family which has existed for more than 300 years. Literally, 'Yim Tin' means salt-pan. In the early years, villagers of the island lived on farming and salt-making. Because of the adverse situation of rural life in recent decades, all villagers have migrated to urban areas and overseas countries for living. Yim Tin Tsai is different from a traditional Chinese-style village. This village is a Catholic community, where villagers were devoted to Jesus Christ. Although all villagers are now settled in urban areas and overseas countries, they return to the island to pray, celebrate, and in Catholicism, thank God's blessing on the feast day of St Joseph every year together. Regarding natural resources, there are areas of mangrove, wetland and mudflat in Yim Tin Tsai, and its nearby areas possess a huge diversity of plants and other living creatures. The salt fields represent not only the culture but also the historical and industrial development of social life. Since Yim Tin Tsai is close to Sharp Island Geo-area and other geological attractions in the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark as well as Kiu Tsui Country Park, geo-tourism and nature-based tourism can also be performed together.
Objective
This Virtual Reality-Augmented Reality (VR-AR) field trip platform includes a VR platform and an AR mobile app, which provide an opportunity for users to remotely observe, appreciate and understand the religious, cultural and ecological value of Yim Tin Tsai. Users may take a virtual trip for some forms of nature-based, eco-, religious or cultural tourism. In an absence of onsite field visit, this VR-AR platform allows users to explore the environment of Yim Tin Tsai. This AR app provides Yim Tin Tsai videos and 3D images of two important features of the island, The St. Joseph Chapel and the saltpans. Moreover, a Mixed-Reality (MR) game is added to the VR platform with a set of 10 questions to test users’ understand of Yim Tin Tsai. Users can conduct this MR game either on the island or virtually in this platform.
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