On the afternoon of June 6th, a digital experience day featuring exhibitions, hands-on activities, and discussions was held at Tangxiang Park, marking the launch of the "Smart City, Shared Digital Future" 2026 Pudong New Area Digital Literacy and Skills Enhancement Month for All.

During this month-long initiative, Pudong New Area will host nearly 300 themed events centered around five key areas: "Smart Governance for Public Benefit," "AI Industry," "AI + Culture," "Smart Elderly Care," and "Digital Villages." These activities will span all 36 sub-districts and towns within the district, aiming to promote digital literacy and skills in schools, commercial districts, enterprises, communities, and rural areas. The program is expected to reach approximately 2 million individuals from diverse groups, including seniors, youth, elderly care industry workers, AI industry professionals, innovators and entrepreneurs, and new-generation farmers.

Showcasing "Hard Power" and Imparting "Soft Skills"

On the lawn, autonomous lawn mowers navigated deftly among the greenery, accurately identifying obstacles to complete trimming tasks. On the waterways, unmanned cleaning vessels worked simultaneously for efficient sanitation. On the roads, unmanned urban management patrol vehicles and street sweepers collaborated to ensure smooth traffic and a clean environment. At the event's market, citizens enthusiastically participated in interactive quizzes, VR experiences, and digital course trials, embracing the fruits of digital applications up close.

Through various formats, this event collectively demonstrated the "hard power" of digital governance and imparted the "soft skills" for digital living, allowing citizens to personally experience how technological advancements are reshaping daily life.

During the new technology showcase, the Zhangjiang Town Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Team introduced the nation's first new model of unmanned urban management patrol vehicle, revealing its advanced capabilities. This vehicle integrates high-precision mapping, LiDAR, and HD cameras, has passed rigorous certification, and can achieve safe autonomous operation under various weather conditions.

"From the initial proof-of-concept to a common sight on the streets of Zhangjiang Town today, the unmanned patrol vehicle is no longer just a cold machine. It is using the warmth of technology to quietly transform our law enforcement ecosystem, making urban governance both effective and compassionate," said Yan Shizhao, a third-level principal officer with the Zhangjiang team. He revealed that while only three such vehicles were deployed in 2024, the number has grown to 19 in the first half of this year. Through continuous operation, the algorithm models have been deeply customized and iterated, now capable of accurately identifying over ten types of street-level governance scenarios, playing an irreplaceable role in Zhangjiang's urban management framework.

With the park as its "stage" and a fleet of unmanned smart maintenance equipment as its "performers," the Pu Yang Group vividly demonstrated how digital technology addresses pain points in traditional urban management, such as low efficiency, high costs, and harsh outdoor working conditions. This showcase offered a glimpse into the broader picture of a future smart city.

To make digital skills more tangible, learnable, and experiential, a digital market was set up at the event. Demonstration bases, website platforms, and tech companies, including Jinhai Cultural Arts Center, Shanghai Digital Content Industry Promotion Center, Alipay, Migu Video, FinVolution Group, DBAPP Security, and Pocket Story, engaged citizens through surveys, quiz challenges, and interactive installations. This allowed for an immersive encounter with new smart living scenarios while raising awareness about avoiding cybersecurity risks.

"At this event, we interacted with the public through games like 'Huarong Dao,' using fun and education to enhance everyone's awareness of fraud prevention," explained Dong Jiale, a Marketing Engineer at DBAPP Security.

An 11-year-old participant named Xiaoyu also learned about cybersecurity through games at FinVolution Group's booth. She said, "I learned anti-fraud techniques and the correct ways to respond in various scenarios."

Creating a Smart, Shared, and Harmonious Digital Life

The schedule of nearly 300 events includes five key district-level activities and numerous grassroots-level activities for enhancing public digital literacy and skills.

Among the five key district-level events, this Digital Experience Day focused on "Smart Governance for Public Benefit." During a post-experience sharing session, Tian Shijun, a retired resident from Dongming Road Sub-district, spoke on the theme "Gratitude for the Happiness the Internet Brings to Us Seniors." He shared heartfelt insights on how, with community support, senior citizens are bridging the digital divide and actively integrating into the digital wave.

Lyu Yueqi, a student from Shangde Experimental School, shared thoughts on "Embracing AI Technology, Enlivening a Wonderful Life," reflecting the open-minded yet rational attitude of the youth, often called "digital natives," towards the wave of artificial intelligence.

Centered on "AI + Culture," events will include the "Brilliant Youth" Third Jinhai AI Art Exhibition, alongside immersive experiences for the public such as AI programming workshops, AI job skill sessions, AI smart health applications, AI poetry creation, and VR cloud-guided tours.

Focused on the "AI Industry," an event titled "Compliance for Innovation, Boundless 'Model' Power" will be held at the Zhangjiang Model Community. It will provide guidance on healthy, compliant development for AI enterprises while offering the public zero-distance experience with AI application products, achieving a dual-drive approach of "training + experience."

For "Smart Elderly Care," an event titled "Hundred Questions, Hundred Answers: Human vs. Machine PK" will be organized for professionals in the elderly care sector. Through immersive experiences, scenario demonstrations, and成果展示, the event will promote the application and普及of embodied intelligent products like companion robots in elderly care.

Regarding "Digital Villages," the initiative will widely collect real stories of digital empowerment in agricultural and rural development, compile outstanding case studies, facilitate经验交流and专题培训, and推广replicable best practices.

The numerous grassroots activities for public digital literacy and skills enhancement include programs to spark youth interest, such as AI-assisted programming exploration camps, science innovation courtyard research trips, and "AI Little Detective"启蒙课程. There are also courses to help seniors bridge the digital divide, like senior AI painting workshops and "Short Video Editing Skills" classes. Other activities助力广大市民embrace digital living, including technology fairs, AI cultural and creative experiences, and online AI challenge quizzes. Additionally, there are events focused on urban综合治理and前沿技术, such as drone intelligent监管scenario demonstrations, national defense AI technology classes, and AI meteorological science普及.

Furthermore, there are programs targeting innovators and entrepreneurs, like青年人才community AI training series and digital training for出海企业, as well as initiatives for new业态从业者, such as公益courses on livestreaming for new-generation farmers and AI专题辅导.

A number of enterprises, social organizations, and institutions based in Pudong are leveraging their strengths to actively provide various activity spaces and learning resources, enabling the public to更深刻地感受the benefits of the digital era.