Summer Palace （1）——The Emperor's Garden in Winter

Winter in the Summer Palace (I) — Snow and Stillness

A 12K / 19K Immersive VR Experience

Fresh snow transforms the royal gardens of the Summer Palace into a landscape of quiet balance.
In the opening chapter of this three-part VR series, viewers are invited to move slowly through snow-covered paths, frozen lakes, and imperial pavilions softened by winter light.

Filmed primarily in 12K ultra-high-resolution VR, with selected scenes captured in 19K, the experience invites close observation and perceptual comparison, leaving the distinction intentionally unmarked. Viewers are encouraged to discover for themselves where additional clarity subtly alters the way space and detail are perceived.

Along the frozen lake, winter silence is gently interrupted by acts of creation.
Elderly painters set up easels to render the imperial garden in oil, translating snow, stone, and water into deliberate brushstrokes. Nearby, local photography groups gather for portrait and figure studies, transforming the shoreline into an open-air studio. What was once an exclusive imperial landscape becomes a shared artistic space, where everyday creativity quietly reclaims the garden.

The experience is accompanied by Mozart’s Violin Sonata in B-Flat Major, KV. 454: I. Largo, whose restrained pacing mirrors the stillness of the winter garden.
Minimal sound design allows the environment to breathe, encouraging calm exploration and sustained presence.

This chapter opens the series with stillness, establis