The West Lake at sunset [Photo/Sipa]

The popular West Lake scenic area in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province recently applied digital technologies to improve its daily management, including a 5G unmanned boat for monitoring water quality.

According to Sun Jian, who is in charge of water monitoring in the scenic area, the boat is equipped with a camera to capture and identify floating objects such as leaves and household waste. It is also equipped with a water quality monitor to collect various kinds of water quality indicators. All data will be transmitted in real time to the back-room comprehensive control system.

The scenic area also uses a digital control platform to manage traffic and security. For example, the platform shows the voltage, electric current and cable temperature in every distribution box on Baoshishan Mountain so that workers do not have to climb the mountain to check them to prevent a fire.

In addition, the scenic area now enables visitors to check in within 20 seconds by scanning a QR code, and 47 parking lots have been digitalized for visitors to leave before paying fees.