As much ink continues to be spilled on the subject of the “metaverse,” universities in China are rolling out plans to take their programs into unknown digital realms this year. His interest stems from the possible uses of virtual spaces in education, an application that has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools have been forced to hold classes online for long periods of time.

On October 17, Nankai University in Tianjin released the country’s first metaverse model from its School of Journalism and Communications. To this end, they created a detailed virtual model of one of the teaching buildings on campus that students can freely navigate as avatars.

Prior to that, on September 23, Nanjing University of…