"I really love aquariums and am especially fond of blue and green colors. Through AI, I created my own ideal space for reading." An international student from Vietnam won the Masterful Writing Award at the "Hunan Library Chinese Corner Cup" AI Creative Competition with her AI-generated library artwork filled with dreamy aquarium elements.

The award ceremony for the " Hunan Library Chinese Corner Cup" AI Creative Competition. (Photo provided by Hunan Library)

On June 14, an award ceremony and exhibition of award-winning works for the "Hunan Library Chinese Corner Cup" AI Creative Competition were held at Hunan Library. International students from over 20 countries, including Pakistan, Russia, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, and the UK, received awards.

Themed “Gathering Wisdom Through Reading in Hunan, Connecting the World Through Books,” the competition invited participants to blend real-life photography and AI-assisted imagery to explore how reading transcends the boundaries of time, space, language, and culture, envisioning the future of smart libraries. The competition was launched on April 23, World Book Day, and concluded on May 25, receiving 61 entries from international students representing five universities: Central South University, Hunan University, Hunan Normal University, Xiangtan University, and Changsha University of Science and Technology.

Following online preliminary reviews and offline final judging, 21 individual winners stood out for three special awards—the Cultural Bridge Award, the Best Human-Machine Collaboration Award, and the Masterful Writing Award, along with five group honors including the Award for Outstanding Organizers.

International students visit the exhibition of award-winning works. (Photo provided by Hunan Library)

Smart robotic arms that autonomously retrieve books from towering shelves, mobile robots facilitating searches and check-in/checkout processes, and personal reading spaces nestled amid greenery, and more: Through "reality vs. AI-generated vision" comparisons, the award-winning works exhibition offered visitors a vivid glimpse into the boundless possibilities of future libraries.

A Bangladeshi student transforms traditional bookshelves into smart holographic displays in his AI-generated vision, where book covers float as luminous projections. Small retrieval robots dart through the corridors, while beneath transparent flooring lies an underground automated stack room which intelligently manages vast collections. "With AR glasses, readers can dive into immersive reading, while real-time translation technology helps break down language barriers, allowing knowledge to truly transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries," this student said.

Gu Wei, deputy director of Hunan Library, noted that the competition integrated reading, language, and cutting-edge AI technologies, marking a creative step forward for the "Hunan Library Chinese Corner" brand in cross-cultural engagement. She encouraged the award-winning international students to serve as cultural envoys between China and the world. Moreover, she revealed that the library plans to continue working with international friends in Hunan, rolling out more high-quality cultural initiatives.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: Chinanews