A character from Hangzhou Library's collection Painting of Han Xizai's Dinner Party. [Photo/thehour.cn]

Hangzhou Library has been using artificial intelligence technology to bring figures of ancient paintings and books back to life, local media reported on Sept 22.

On the electronic screen at Hangzhou Library, the ancient characters in more than 10 renowned paintings from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) came to life as they recited poems and attracted crowds of people.

Hangzhou used to be the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). As such, Hangzhou Library has a large collection of publications that document the culture and life of the dynasty, according to Liang Liang, the library's deputy director.

Liang added that to promote the history and culture of the Song Dynasty, the library started cooperating with the Alibaba DAMO Academy last year to leverage AI technology to animate figures in ancient books and paintings.

An Alibaba DAMO Academy engineer scans an ancient book from Hangzhou Library. [Photo/thehour.cn]

Tang Mingqian (M), an AI algorithm engineer from Alibaba DAMO Academy who is in charge of the Hangzhou Library project, has a discussion with his colleagues. [Photo/thehour.cn]