The Sanya Leonardo da Vinci Museum at the Global Digital Trade Expo
Leonardo's manuscripts meet artificial intelligence in Hangzhou
Hangzhou (Zhejiang), China
2026 | 09/23–09/27 |
The Sanya Leonardo da Vinci Museum, currently being developed on Hainan Island with Amalart as curatorial and scientific advisor, makes its first appearance on a national stage at the fifth Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE), held in Hangzhou from 23 to 27 September 2026.
Global Digital Trade Expo
China's only national-level exhibition dedicated to digital trade brings together close to 2,000 companies from around the world across more than 150,000 square metres, under this year's theme "Meeting the Future of AI". Hainan takes part as guest of honour province, presenting its Free Trade Port in the Hainan Pavilion in Hall 2, where the museum has its stand.
At the centre of the stand is a facsimile of Leonardo's Madrid Codices, presented in China for the first time.
The Madrid Codices are among the most remarkable of Leonardo's notebooks. Written in his characteristic mirror script, from right to left, they gather studies of mechanics and machine design that anticipate solutions developed centuries later. Misplaced for over four hundred years, the manuscripts were rediscovered in the mid-1960s at the National Library of Spain in Madrid, a finding that drew wide attention in the international scholarly community.
Alongside the codex, the stand brings Leonardo's legacy into dialogue with the technologies at the heart of the Expo. A humanoid robot developed by Original Force Star Intelligent Technology (Hainan) guides visitors through the story of the manuscripts and answers their questions about Leonardo's life and work. A two-armed robotic barista prepares cappuccinos decorated with the smile of the Mona Lisa or one of Leonardo's flying machines.
Five centuries ago Leonardo filled his notebooks with questions about how machines could extend human capabilities. Setting his manuscripts beside artificial intelligence shows how that curiosity still speaks to the present. It also anticipates the approach of the Sanya museum, scheduled to open in 2027, where scientific rigour and new technologies will work together to make Leonardo's thought accessible to an international audience.