Students enrolled in a first-level Chinese course had a chance to explore a virtual version of a Beijing teahouse in November as they got a first glimpse of the much-anticipated Mandarin Project being developed at the Emergent Reality Lab (ERL). The ERL is located at the Rensselaer Technology Park. The project, which will be incorporated into the curriculum for students studying Chinese at Rensselaer, uses virtual reality, synthetic characters, and narrative storytelling to transport students to Beijing. The students must use their knowledge of Chinese language and culture to solve mysteries, interact with characters, and make their way through Beijing. Professors Lee Sheldon and Ben Chang are leading the project’s development with the help of two new Chinese language professors, Jianling Yue and Yalun Zhou.
