【英文朗读】Digital copies of famous sword sell out in seconds

Digital copies of famous sword sell out in seconds

00:08①Historical artifacts are usually priceless, fragile and not to be touched. But these days, curious visitors can see them, play with them and make them part of their personal collections, all for just 19.90 yuan ($3.10).

00:27②In late October, digital versions of the Sword of Gou Jian, one of China's most important historical artifacts, which has retained its sharpness and whose patterns remain clear after more than 2,000 years, sold out in seconds.

00:43③Ever since it was unearthed in Hubei province in 1965, the sword has been one of the prize displays at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, the provincial capital. Covered in delicately engraved inscriptions, mysterious black rhombus patterns and blue and turquoise inlay, it is an example of the advanced design and production techniques used to make weapons during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and originally belonged to a famous king of the Yue State.

01:17④The digital version, codeveloped by the museum and tech giant Alibaba, retains every detail of the original. Viewers can zoom in on a perfectly restored version after paying the 19.90 yuan fee through the Alipay platform.

01:34⑤"More than 600,000 people rushed to purchase 10,000 digital copies of the sword, which sold out in three seconds!" said Wang Xianfu, deputy director of the museum, adding that he didn't expect the offering would be so popular. "I didn't even get one for myself."