FLOWING NARRATIVE:
The Climate Futures
Reimagined

The Yangtze River, flowing over 3915 miles, epitomizes a living artery, carrying memories, culture, and life from the Tanggula Mountains to the East China Sea. To unravel the abstract and intimate interactions between water, life, and memory, we propose an immersive real-time 3D (RT3D) project that will echo Chinese culture's linguistic traditions and its intricate relationship with nature.

Since the very beginning of Chinese culture, Chinese people have been practicing extending reality with words; for example, the words 山 ( shan, mountain) and 水 (shui, water) are abstractions of geographical features and cultural imaginations. By listing and configurating words inherited from Shan and Shui, we arrive at different microcosms that sensitively slice and interpret the civilization of the Yangtze River watershed—from the canon of modern technology and information in hydrological station study to traditional and indigenous wisdom of phenology, bio indicators and time-space construction.

As we explore this complex interaction between humanity and the Yangtze, intriguing patterns unfold, transcending traditional topographical delineation. This mapping exercise reveals more than the river's course—it manifests a symbiotic relation of memory, culture, and life. However, amid this intricate data lies a challenge—the allure of apophenia, or the instinct to recognize meaningful patterns within random information. The rich tapestry of data is filled with noise, highlighting our gaps in understanding, the unprocessed elements of the river's story. Each point on our worlding signifies a moment within an infinitely layered narrative of water, ecology, and human interaction—a signal amidst the noise. In this dynamic array, truths are not singular but multiple, not static but fluid. To grasp them, we must welcome the noise, diving deep into the dense, tumultuous data.

By employing Unity's RT3D technology, we intend to construct a digital trailscape, a virtual world that morphs in response to user interaction. In this trailscape, users can understand the Yangtze's culture and environment via virtual markers, steps taken along the way, or the fluctuating water levels of the Dongting Lake.

Tailored for the 2023 WORLDING Unity Incubator, this project targets the intersection of storytelling, climate change, XR, and land use decision-making. By generating an immersive 3D experience, we aspire to stimulate informed discussions around climate change and ecological sustainability in real-life communities residing along the Yangtze.

Our team is prepared for several ideation and planning sessions in spring and summer 2023. We believe our project aligns with the initiative's goal of investigating technology-assisted future-versioning and co-creative approach, visualizing sustainable worlds using real-time 3D technologies, and enabling them to become a reality. We look forward to a constructive and inspiring exchange with the MIT departments, Unity team, and special guests in the fall of 2023.