A central Chinese museum on Friday became the first in the country to offer full 5G coverage and multiple related services including real-time viewing of a 2,000-year-old bronze chime.

The Wuhan Provincial Museum said the entire museum is now covered by the 5G wireless network, and a package of 5G-based applications are offered to allow the public to have "unprecedented" interaction with the collections.

Among the new services is a virtual reality (VR) zone that allows visitors to strike the Zenghouyi chime bells, a treasure of the museum dating back to the Warring State Period (475-221 BC), in a virtual environment.

Panoramic cameras were also installed to capture real-time videos of the chime, which are then transmitted via the 5G network to mobile applications and screens at the museum.

"With larger bandwidth and lower latency, the 5G network makes such live broadcasting of collections possible. It presents smoother videos and allows access to a greater number of viewers," said Yang Lisheng, deputy director of the museum's information center.