An Extraordinary Sci-Fi Tour

Sci-fi has always been a means of stimulating human imagination to the fullest. It gives people the view of being on a universe rover, during which Mother Earth is only one stop of their interstellar odyssey.
If you use the same amount of energy to jump 0.5 meters above the ground on the Earth, you will jump three meters above the moon, and on Pluto, the figure will be as high as 7.4 meters – giving you the feeling of taking off.

The height humans can jump is not only related to their physical fitness, gravity is one of the other major factors. Now, you can jump in front of a planetary gravity measuring machine, and your jumping height on the Earth will be captured in just one second and the heights at which you can jump on various other planets will also be instantly calculated accordingly.

What a cool thing that is! Along with the development of technology, human exploration of the universe has never stopped. Nowadays, new products from the science fiction industry have brought ordinary people in close connection with interstellar shuttles, space museums, and more, enabling them to “travel” in the universe and wander around the sci-fi world, inspiring them with the charm of the vast, starry universe.

From May 29 to June 4, the 2023 China Science Fiction Convention (CSFC) was held in Beijing. It provided a sci-fi feast for the public through a series of activities such as exhibitions, forums, and carnivals, etc.

Various events such as forums and sci-fi exhibitions were arranged in this year’s CSFC inside the Shougang Park.

Aerospace and Science Fiction

Sitting in the model of the reentry capsule with her hands on the control rod and wearing augmented reality glasses, Tang Qiuping, 70 years of age, and her “fellow astronaut,” a junior high school student from Shijingshan School of the Affiliated High School of Peking University, started out together on a journey back to Earth from outer space.

The details inside the reentry capsule are very realistic, with multiple functional areas for work, sleeping, dining, and exercise clearly defined. Knowing that this was a virtual world, Tang still impulsively stretched out her hand to touch the instruments which she “saw” inside the capsule. She followed the instructions of the voice that spoke to her in the earphones about how to conduct her “work.” Suddenly, during the process of reentering the Earth’s atmosphere, the seat began to vibrate and the signal disappeared. After several seconds, everything returned back to normal before she had time to get panicked.

After the five-minute role play, Tang took off her glasses and successfully “stepped out” onto solid ground. She exclaimed, “Everything was so real, the Earth was very beautiful when seen from space. This is an experience I’ll never forget.”

“Indeed, everyone has a strong feeling of being an astronaut when they step out, and we have also set up some details to give them a firsthand experience of aerospace engineering,” introduced Wang Deng, director of the Science Popularization Research Department of the Sixth Institute of China Aerospace Academy of Systems Science and Engineering.

Wang went on to explain, “This device is called ‘Re-entry to Earth.’ When users enter it and wear VR glasses, they can see the interior of the space station with a 360 degree panoramic view. They can also experience the separation, braking, orbit change, and entering into the atmosphere of the capsule before finally falling back into the arms of Mother Earth. It is a chance to experience the whole process astronauts go through in conducting their work.”

This lifelike device is located in the Capital Youth Sci-fi Education Space set up by the Beijing Association for Science and Technology in Hall 11 of Shougang Park during the 2023 China Science Fiction Convention. There are many other interesting devices on exhibit in this space, such as “Interstellar Cycling” — driving a motorcycle with VR glasses between eight major planets, “Lunar Driving” — racing on the bumpy surface of the moon filled with craters, and so on. These exhibits attracted large lines of viewers both old and young who wanted to have a try.

Wang said that in this area, his colleagues have combined space technology with sci-fi. Through virtual reality and somatosensory interaction technology, they have presented to the public scientific and technological achievements, megaprojects, and ideas of researchers about the future in the field of space in an immersive and interactive way. In this way, they hope to help more people learn about space, get a feeling about space culture, and understand the spirit of space exploration.

In addition, these various types of aerospace high-tech also show a human touch. In order to expand the age range of participants, every piece of equipment has undergone multiple tests, and are safe and stable, making them suitable for all ages, ranging from 4 to 70 years old. As long as people can wear VR glasses properly, they will feel no discomfort during the experience. The space researchers hope to plant scientific seeds in the hearts of the public, especially the young people, to make aerospace technology accessible to ordinary people and bring more new forces to China’s aerospace industry.

Junior high school students from Shijingshan School of the Affiliated High School of Peking University are listening to explanations related to aviation and aerospace at the CSFC 2023 on May 30.

Wide Open Door to China’s Sci-Fi

Sci-fi and technological innovation are inseparable. Sci-fi brings inspiration and creativity to technological innovation, while technological development continues to expand new horizons of sci-fi.

The “2023 China Science Fiction Industry Report,” jointly compiled by the China Science Fiction Research Center and the Science and Human Imagination Research Center of Southern University of Science and Technology, was recently released. The paper focuses on various aspects of Chinese sci-fi market during 2022 from sci-fi reading, movies, games, derivatives, to sci-fi cultural tourism.

According to the report, the total revenue of China’s sci-fi industry in 2022 reached RMB 87.75 billion, of which sci-fi reading was RMB 3.04 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.6 percent. The total revenue of the sci-fi game industry in 2022 reached RMB 56.5 billion, with the proportion of mobile game market increased to create a revenue reaching RMB 56.2 billion. It is noted that Chinese sci-fi games performed well on the overseas market.

This robust development owes a lot to consumers. Among various age groups, young people constitute the major force in sci-fi-related consumption with the 21-40 age group spending significantly more money on sci-fi products. They are mainly attracted by the infinite imagination, visual effects, creative derivatives, and visual impact which they create.

For ordinary people, sci-fi is an important way to stimulate curiosity and imagination. Chinese sci-fi not only has a high popularity domestically, but also has a large number of followers overseas.

In recent years, with the popularity of The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin, China’s leading writer of science fiction, both at home and abroad, Chinese sci-fi has also entered the global mainstream. What’s more, the milestone Chinese sci-fi movie The Wandering Earth has achieved impressive box office overseas. These works offer a window into the country for curious people looking in from outside.

“Sci-fi is an expansion of imagination based on technology, which in turn promotes the creation of technology and turns some fantasies into reality. In sci-fi novels and movies, people can create without restraint their imaginary future technologies. However, our imagination is based on our daily lives. Only by understanding more about new technologies can we be more imaginative,” said Hui Hu, a young sci-fi writer and winner of the Light-year Award, a recognized award for sci-fi novels in China.

A search through overseas social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and well-known book websites such as Amazon, reveals that the reason overseas audiences and readers are interested in Chinese sci-fi is that it gives them a combined sense of long-lost familiarity, nobility, and surprise. Although in terms of technology background and aesthetics the two are quite alike, Chinese sci-fi is completely different from the Western one in its portrayal of the future society, the expression of human nature, and the setting of the storyline. Its human touch and the Eastern philosophy are something very unique.

In the eyes of many overseas audiences and readers, Chinese sci-fi always integrates a heavy sense of reality with the Chinese worldview that highlights collective unity rather than individual superheroes, which is also very special to them. For example, in The Three-Body Problem, which has a large fanbase overseas, the main characters such as Ye Wenjie have their own storyline, and their appearance is not solely for the development of the story. This is in stark contrast to the cliched sci-fi characters in the English world.

In addition to well-known sci-fi works, there are also many domestic sci-fi writers whose works have their own readership overseas, such as Wang Jinkang, A Que, among others. Liu Yukun, the American Chinese who translated The Three-Body Problem, has also written many good works. In the view of Liu Cixin, though Chinese sci-fi has just begun to receive widespread attention, he believes with the arrival of the golden age of China, the era of Chinese sci-fi and Eastern values will also come.

The 2023 CSFC Metaverse Industry Summit is held inside the SoReal Metaverse Paradise of No.1 Blast Furnace of Shougang Park, Shijingshan District, Beijing on June 1, 2023.

Pushing the Boundaries of Reality

In 1838, the definition of a “light year” made the distance between celestial bodies in the universe no longer unfathomable. When looking up at a starry sky, the universe also becomes more concrete in people’s imagination.

Sci-fi has also undergone a hundred years of development in China. Dating back as early as around the May Fourth Movement in 1919, China’s famous writer Lu Xun took the lead in translating and introducing the literary work of Verne’s science fiction, trying to enlighten the public’s understanding of science and technology in a literary way. The past century has witnessed the rapid development of China’s technology. On May 29, 2023, China announced the launch of the manned mission to the Moon in the lunar landing phase, and the first Chinese landing on the moon is planned to take place by 2030.

On May 30, 2023, Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft was successfully sent into space. At 18:22 on the same day, the Shenzhou 15 crew successfully opened the “door” to welcome the Shenzhou 16 crew from afar to settle down in the Tiangong space station, achieving the successful meeting of the two crews. The development of the entire national aerospace industry has broadened the horizons of ordinary people.

For the general public, the rapid development of technology has broken down the barrier between reality and science fiction, giving them the opportunity to enter another virtual world built on the Internet through devices such as personal computers and smartphones. Through these devices, they can also reach out into the distant future.

Science fiction transcends national boundaries, showing influence on the fate of all humanity. While providing us with unique experiences and inspiring our infinite imagination, it also allows us to no longer feel empty and lonely when looking up at the starry sky. It allows us to observe the vast universe from a perspective that transcends reality, examine the Earth we live on, and accept the insignificance of humanity in the vast universe. Through stimulating human’s imagination about other planetary civilizations, the sci-fi world can also help people better understand themselves.