Virtual way to save architectural heritage

THE NOTRE DAME FIRE has been extinguished, but its spire and a large portion of its wooden roof have been damaged. Maybe digital technology could help to better protect architectural cultural heritage, comments China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang:

On domestic social media networks such as WeChat a common comment on the disaster is: "What a pity that we cannot see the damaged parts of the wonder anymore."

But there is at least one way of seeing them, namely via a video game called Assassin's Creed: Unity. In this game, the player can travel to one city after another and enter the buildings exactly like they are in reality, and see Notre Dame as it was before the fire. Further, with virtual reality technology, which is already quite mature, one can even look around the undamaged Notre Dame and see the cathedral as if it is still there.