Alibaba has launched a 100 million-yuan ($15 million) initiative aimed at preserving Chinese dialects, the e-commerce giant’s AI Labs division announced Wednesday, according to a report by The Beijing News.

Beginning with dialects spoken in Sichuan province, Alibaba hopes to gradually build a complete database that encompasses all 130 or so dialects found nationwide. Samples will be collected by mobile apps and devices such as Alibaba’s smart speaker, the Tmall Genie — though the company has not elaborated on how.

After decades of pushing Mandarin as China’s common tongue, the central government has gradually accepted the value of preserving local and regional languages and dialects, including Manchu in the north and Yi in the south. (Image: VCG)