With the rapid development of AI technology, the combination of traditional ink painting and modern technology has shown innovative potential. Ha Long Bay in North Vietnam, with its unique karst landscape and cloud and mist scenery, matches the landscape imagery of Chinese ink paintings, making it an ideal material for the transformation of AI ink paintings. This study investigates how AI can be used to transform Halong Bay’s photographic works into ink paintings, and analyses the impact of AI in media transformation and its creative ability using ‘media theory’ and ‘theory of subjectivity of creation’ as a framework. The results of the study show that: (1) AI can simulate the flying white effect and ink colour layers of traditional ink paintings in a detailed way, which is close to the technical level of traditional artists. (2) AI-generated ink paintings give a sense of motion to static photographs, successfully integrating traditional art with modern technology. However, AI is still inadequate in the art of white space, poetic expression, and the emotional and cultural depth of Oriental aesthetics. Therefore, AI should be used as a tool to assist creativity rather than a fully autonomous creator. In the future, we need to further study how to balance technology and humanistic connotation to achieve a higher level of artistic creation.