When the British Museum closes its doors the place comes alive, not with animated Egyptian mummies as in the film ‘The Night at the Museum’ starring Ben Stiller, but with commerce. Tour guides start rolling livestreams on their smart phones out to Chinese cyber tourists halfway around the world.

The British Museum said in August it was doubling down on these virtual tours in partnership with Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group after an early livestream attracted 370,000 views in the first minute.

Many tourists are foregoing international travel again this year as the Delta variant spreads. However, they are still hungry for cultural experiences.

So tourist hotspots from Spain’s Prado Museum to France’s Palace of Versailles and the Louvre are teaming up with technology platforms to keep the crowds pouring in. Over the past year, these seats of learning have upped their game in terms of social media and virtual tours to beam cultural events directly into people’s living rooms.