On the evening of September 1 local time, President Xi Jinping arrived in Cairo, beginning a state visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt.

President Xi Jinping meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. (Photo: Xinhua News Agency)

Seventy years ago, Egypt was the first country in the Arab world and Africa to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Over the past seven decades, regardless of how the international landscape has shifted, China and Egypt have always upheld mutual respect, equality, mutual trust, and mutual support. In the new era, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Egypt relations have continued to deepen, with bilateral cooperation expanding from trade and infrastructure into science and technology, energy, education, culture, and beyond. President Xi Jinping's visit to Egypt has once again injected new momentum into the development of China-Egypt relations in the new era, and brought the exchange and mutual learning between our two great ancient civilizations firmly back into the spotlight.

Among the steadily expanding fields of China-Egypt cooperation, cultural-heritage protection and archaeology have long stood out as a shared priority. On August 29, the Chinese Embassy in Egypt released a feature titled "Led by the Heads of State: The Fruits of China-Egypt Cooperation," which systematically reviews the achievements of China-Egypt collaboration in the new era. It specifically highlighted the China-Egypt Sakkara Joint Archaeological Project, noting that since its launch in 2022 the project has used digital technologies brought by the Chinese team — including micro-trace scanning, multispectral imaging, and 3D reconstruction — to give sites and artifacts such as the Temple of Bastet and the "Great Enclosure" pyramid at Sakkara a renewed life.

On the afternoon of September 2 local time, President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan visited the Grand Egyptian Museum, accompanied by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his spouse, Mrs. Intisar El-Sisi. President Xi noted that China and Egypt, both ancient civilizations and great countries of world heritage, represent two civilizations reaching out to each other across time and space. The two sides should promote a vision of civilizations characterized by equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness, and advance exchange and mutual learning among different civilizations.

From the Grand Egyptian Museum to the Sakkara excavation site, civilizational exchange is being carried forward in new forms. From micro-trace scanning and multispectral imaging to 3D reconstruction, modern digital technologies are entering millennia-old sites, opening new possibilities for the protection, research, and transmission of ancient civilizations.

The China-Egypt Sakkara Joint Archaeological Project is led by the Institute of World Art History at Shanghai International Studies University, with Xinwei Changxiang Digital Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and Scanology providing deep technical support for the digital work of the excavation. As one of the technical partners in the project's digital work, Scanology uses high-precision 3D scanning to carry out 3D data acquisition of artifacts unearthed at Sakkara. With its non-contact, high-precision digitization capabilities, Scanology helps preserve complete digital archives of precious artifacts, empowering cultural-heritage protection, archaeological research, and cross-civilization cultural transmission.

Today, let us step into Sakkara and see how Chinese 3D digitization technology has entered a millennia-old heritage site — recording ancient civilization through the power of digital technology.

Part 01 | From Head-of-State Diplomacy to Mutual Learning Among Civilizations

Sakkara is one of the most significant sites of ancient Egyptian civilization. The necropolis is home to a number of pharaonic pyramids, noble tombs, and a wealth of precious artifacts, making it a vital area for the study of the ancient Egyptian world. China and Egypt, both countries with long histories and ancient civilizations, have long regarded cooperation in cultural-heritage protection and archaeology as an important dimension of their civilizational exchange and mutual learning.

In recent years, cultural exchange between China and Egypt has continued to deepen. From July 2024 to August 2025, the exhibition "Atop the Pyramids: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt" was held at the Shanghai Museum, bringing together more than 780 precious artifacts from the Nile alongside dozens of ancient Chinese artifacts and attracting over 2.77 million visitors from China and abroad. Beyond the museum, the excavation site itself has become an important space for exchange between the two civilizations.

In 2022, the China-Egypt Sakkara Joint Archaeological Project was launched. The Chinese archaeological team brought digital technologies — including micro-trace scanning, multispectral imaging, and 3D reconstruction — into the field, allowing modern science and technology to meet a millennia-old civilization on the banks of the Nile. 3D digitization is a vital part of this effort.

Part 02 | How Does a 3D Scanner Enter a Millennia-Old Archaeological Site?

The value of archaeological work lies not only in "discovering." Equally important is how to comprehensively document the information of a cultural artifact, leaving reliable data for subsequent research, conservation, and display. In the China-Egypt Sakkara project, Scanology has successively deployed the 3DeVOK MT professional 3D scanner to carry out 3D data acquisition of unearthed artifacts.

Unlike traditional photography, which can only record two-dimensional visual information, 3D scanning converts an artifact's spatial form, surface structure, and carved ornamentation into digital data. The 3DeVOK MT professional 3D scanner delivers an accuracy of up to 0.04 mm and a resolution of up to 0.1 mm, capable of capturing the fine micro-structures on an artifact's surface and providing a data foundation for digital archiving, virtual research, and digital exhibition. At the same time, 3D scanning uses a non-contact data-acquisition method, reducing the need to handle the physical artifact directly and offering a new technical pathway for the digital documentation of precious and fragile cultural relics.

For archaeology, this means: once an artifact is unearthed, its information can be recorded more completely. From the physical object to data, from the field to the digital space, 3D technology gives cultural relics a new "digital archive."

Part 03 | From "Seeing the Artifact" to "Leaving Behind the Data"

In the past, history was largely recorded through photographs, written accounts, and traditional surveying. Today, 3D digitization is giving cultural heritage a more three-dimensional form of digital expression. The data captured through 3D scanning can be further processed into high-precision 3D models and, depending on actual needs, applied to digital archiving, virtual research, virtual restoration, and digital exhibition. For precious artifacts that are difficult to move, handle, or display over the long term, digital data also opens new possibilities for subsequent research, conservation, and dissemination.

This is the deeper significance of digital technology in cultural-heritage protection: the physical artifact remains in history, while the digital record gives it a future. As the Chinese Embassy in Egypt has described with the phrase "a renewed life" in reference to what digital technology has brought to the Sakkara site and its artifacts, this "rebirth" is not only about ancient heritage being seen again, but also about it being recorded, studied, and transmitted in digital form.

Part 04 | Bringing Chinese 3D Technology to the Protection of World Civilizations

From the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers to the Nile, two great civilizations that span millennia are, today, connecting in new ways. At Sakkara, Chinese and Egyptian teams are conducting joint archaeology; in the digital space, Chinese 3D digitization technology is becoming a modern tool for documenting ancient Egyptian civilization. For Scanology, participation in the Sakkara Joint Archaeological Project is more than the application of a technology.

More importantly, it is about enabling Chinese 3D digitization technology to take part in the protection, research, and transmission of world cultural heritage. A 3D scanner may only record the form and detail of a single artifact. But when that data is preserved and continuously applied to research, conservation, and display, what it records is no longer just a three-dimensional model — it is a piece of civilizational information spanning millennia.

Conclusion | Let Civilizations Be Seen, Let History Be Preserved

Seventy years ago, China and Egypt formally established diplomatic relations. Seventy years on, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Egypt cooperation has continued to deepen and broaden — from trade and infrastructure to scientific and technological innovation and cultural exchange, the areas of collaboration keep expanding.

President Xi Jinping's visit to Egypt has once again charted a new blueprint for the development of China-Egypt relations. The Sakkara Joint Archaeological Project, meanwhile, is a vivid microcosm of civilizational exchange and mutual learning between our two countries. From micro-trace scanning and multispectral imaging to 3D reconstruction, Chinese digital technology is taking part in the protection and research of world cultural heritage.

3DeVOK is honored to participate in this effort through 3D vision digitization technology — letting the past leave behind clear data, and giving the future more ways to understand history. Going forward, we will continue to explore the broader application of 3D digitization in archaeology, cultural-heritage protection, and cultural transmission, contributing the strength of Chinese technology to the protection and transmission of humanity's shared cultural heritage.

To learn more about 3D scanning for cultural heritage, visit the 3D solution for archaeology and cultural-heritage preservation, or contact the 3DeVOK team for industry solutions in archaeology and cultural-heritage preservation.

About 3DeVOK & SCANOLOGY

SCANOLOGY is a leading metrology brand delivering high-precision 3D measurement solutions for modern manufacturing and engineering. With over 10 years of expertise, six pioneering technological innovations, and customers in more than 70 countries, SCANOLOGY became the first publicly listed company in China's 3D scanning industry in 2025. Its solutions serve industries including aerospace, automotive, heavy equipment, additive manufacturing, and cultural heritage preservation, supporting major projects such as the China Space Station, China’s C919 passenger aircraft, and the China–Egypt joint archaeological program.

3DeVOK, a brand of SCANOLOGY, focuses on professional 3D scanners for applications including automotive customization, medical rehabilitation, museum and cultural heritage digitization, education and research, art and design, and maker projects. Committed to making professional 3D scanning easier and more accessible, 3DeVOK empowers users to bring their ideas to life.