Step into Singapore's Chinatown Library this month, a television screen near the borrowing stations offers an unexpected journey through centuries of Chinese history and material culture.

Films and animations move between ritual bronzes and jade, lacquer and silk, gold and silverware, and the restrained beauty of Song porcelain. Nearby, standing panels carry QR codes that visitors can scan to delve deeper into the stories, objects and themes featured in a full digital exhibition.

The monthlong showcase brings China Crafted, the latest season of the CGTN Art Series, into a public library setting from August 1 to 31.

For the Singapore presentation, CGTN's digital exhibition is paired with a selection of books curated by Singapore's National Library Board (NLB). The result gives visitors several ways into the subject: they can stop to watch a film, scan a QR code to explore online, or turn to the shelves for further reading on the materials, objects and traditions shown on screen.

The showcase is the latest Singapore stop for China Crafted, following its launch at ART SG in January and a program at the Asian Civilizations Museum in June.

Bringing a digital exhibition into the library

At Chinatown Library, China Crafted has been adapted to work with the rhythms of an everyday public space.

The project's films and animations play continuously on a large television screen. Some visitors stop only briefly, while others stay through several videos. The nearby China Crafted panel links directly to the online exhibition via a QR code, allowing the experience to continue beyond the screen.

The physical setting adds another layer. Instead of encountering China Crafted only through a website or at an art fair, visitors get to experience it while borrowing books, reading, or moving through the library.

That setting is particularly relevant at Chinatown Library, which focuses on Chinese arts and culture.

The NLB's contribution takes the experience beyond the screen, giving visitors a way to follow the themes introduced by CGTN's digital exhibition through the library's own collection.

The books on display cover Chinese painting, calligraphy, jade, architecture and traditional furniture, placing the themes explored in China Crafted within a wider history of Chinese art and craftsmanship.

They also include subjects that sit alongside the four dynastic chapters, giving visitors a broader sense of how materials, artistic practices, and design traditions developed across different periods.

The selection also reinforces the link between the digital exhibition and the library setting. For those interested in a particular object or craft, the collection offers a more detailed reference point, with books that place individual traditions within their historical and cultural context.

What visitors see on the screen

The content playing at the library comes from the four chapters of China Crafted, covering the Shang, Han, Tang and Song dynasties.

The films use historical figures, objects, animation and expert commentary to introduce the material culture of each period. The Shang chapter explores jade and bronze; the Han section turns to lacquerware, silk and the discoveries at Mawangdui; the Tang chapter looks at gold and silverware in then cosmopolitan Chang'an; and the Song chapter explores porcelain, tea and literati culture.

Shorter animations provide quick introductions to people and themes, while longer productions spend more time on individual objects, techniques and historical context. Visitors who want to go further can scan the QR code and explore the full digital exhibition at their own pace.

Visitors drawn in by the stories

Visitors of different ages could be seen pausing at the display, sometimes staying through several videos.

The animations appeared to be a particular draw. Reconstructed buildings, historical characters and detailed objects give viewers a visual route into periods that can otherwise feel distant.

For Long, who is in his 70s and has always had an interest in Chinese history and material culture, that sense of immersion was one of the showcase's strengths.

He said the films helped transport viewers back to different periods of Chinese history, bringing distant places, objects and ways of life closer through visual storytelling.

Long found the exhibition distinctive and informative, particularly because many of the historical sites and artifacts featured are not easily experienced in person. He felt the combination of animation, historical detail and material objects helped bridge that distance, giving viewers a stronger sense of the people and societies behind them.

He said he planned to return with his daughter and spend more time exploring the exhibition.

Other visitors arrived with much less prior knowledge. One man said he knew relatively little about the Chinese dynasties before encountering China Crafted, but the stories on screen piqued his interest. After watching the videos, he scanned the QR code and said he intended to read more about the periods and objects featured.

His reaction showed how the showcase can work at different levels: deepening an existing interest in Chinese history for some while sparking curiosity among those encountering these stories for the first time.

A similar response appeared in the exhibition's visitor book, where another guest wrote that they had learned a great deal from the showcase and added a note of thanks to the organizers.

By bringing together CGTN's digital storytelling and NLB's library collections, the Chinatown showcase gives visitors several routes into the same subject. A film can lead to a QR code, a digital exhibition or a book on the shelf, allowing a brief encounter in the library to become the starting point for further discovery.

The showcase runs until August 31.