Virtual–Real Symbiosis in Platform Communication

Abstract

High-fidelity games increasingly function as communication environments for cultural heritage. Taking Black Myth: Wukong as a qualitative case, this article examines how virtual heritage spaces are recognised, experienced, and discussed across gameplay and social media. The study draws on embodied participant observation and online ethnographic materials from Bilibili, Weibo, and Rednote. The findings show that place naming and architectural correspondence make virtual scenes traceable; repeated navigation turns them into remembered fields of action; and platform users transform this familiarity into practices of comparison, route sharing, and cultural interpretation. These practices differ by platform: Bilibili foregrounds spatial explanation and player experience, Rednote favours visual comparison and check-in narratives, while Weibo links individual expressions to public discussions of regional culture and tourism. The article argues that virtual–real symbiosis is a situated process of meaning-making rather than an automatic conversion from media exposure to travel.