BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) — What may an out of date industrial furnace be repurposed for? Though many prospects exist, remodeling it right into a sci-fi wonderland most likely ranks among the many most imaginative choices.
This imaginative and prescient has grow to be actuality at Shougang Park, a former industrial website situated in Beijing’s western outskirts. One of the park’s blast furnaces has been was an prolonged actuality sci-fi attraction, drawing guests to an space as soon as dominated by heavy business.
“By integrating the original industrial infrastructure and breakthrough technologies, we’ve successfully re-positioned the legacy industrial site as a premier tourist destination,” Lyu Xiaozhuo, normal supervisor of Shougang No. 1 Blast Furnace SoReal Sci-Fi Park, instructed Xinhua in an interview.
Riding the momentum of cutting-edge applied sciences, landmark locations just like the park are experiencing a dramatic renaissance, catalyzing a surge in China’s cultural tourism consumption and injecting highly effective impetus into the high-quality improvement of the world’s second-largest financial system.
TECH-ENABLED EXPERIENCE
Put on a headset and you end up confronted with a myriad of dream journeys: interstellar cruises, horseback driving and even a visit to the west just like the legendary one embarked upon by Monkey King Sun Wukong.
Powering such immersive experiences are cutting-edge applied sciences together with edge computing, synthetic intelligence (AI) and holographic imaging — all a part of the modern development drivers that China’s policymakers name “new quality productive forces.”
With the large-scale software of rising applied sciences, the sci-fi park has emerged as a breakout success story since its launch final yr, in line with Lyu.
“We’re seeing tremendous traction in the study tour and family travel segments,” Lyu famous, whereas additionally highlighting that the park has garnered notable overseas curiosity — with worldwide guests accounting for as much as 10 p.c of complete summer time visitors this yr.
Commenting on the transformative impacts of applied sciences on China’s cultural panorama, famend Chinese sci-fi author Liu Cixin mentioned these improvements are “not only enriching the consumer experience, but also pioneering an entirely new era for cultural tourism.”
Similar transformations could be seen throughout the nation. In northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, for instance, the Harbin Ice-Snow World has deployed cutting-edge digital interactive mild installations through the summer time trip, whereas in east China metropolis Shanghai, a revolution-themed memorial website has leveraged digital actuality expertise to ship guests an immersive historic expertise.
Such tech-culture integration has breathed recent life into the cultural sector. According to China Tourism Academy, generative AI and vertical giant language fashions are fueling digital innovation throughout the cultural sphere — providing guests improved interactive experiences, diversified immersive choices and extra customized providers.
GROWTH TAILWINDS
Lyu has attributed the success of the sci-fi park and the burgeoning cultural consumption market to a nurturing coverage ecosystem, sturdy client market and the facility of technological advances.
“We’ve been a big beneficiary of government policies,” Lyu mentioned. Notably, she added that authorities help has been granted in a number of varieties and sustained in each stage of the park’s improvement.
In a key coverage doc outlining cultural improvement for 2021-2025, China designated cutting-edge applied sciences as a strategic cornerstone for reshaping its cultural improvement paradigm.
At the native degree, authorities have been expediting such integration by focused insurance policies and by way of the institution of cultural parks and innovation hubs. Beijing, for example, has fostered a vibrant ecosystem of over 130 sci-fi creation and tech innovation enterprises at its Zhongguancun sci-fi innovation hub, which now delivers a broad spectrum of next-generation technological providers.
Solid market demand has underpinned this transformation. Buoyed by new consumption situations, China’s client spending on providers has emerged as a brilliant spot. Retail gross sales of providers rose 5.3 p.c yr on yr through the first half of 2025 — outpacing the expansion of products gross sales.
Technology stays pivotal. According to Lyu, applied sciences deployed within the park have been developed by strategic partnerships with telecommunications leaders comparable to Qualcomm and China Mobile.
“These technologies represent eight years of R&D investment and multiple iteration cycles. We will continue to enhance our technology platform and product offerings,” she mentioned, emphasizing that over half of the corporate’s workers are devoted to R&D and design.
ROSY PROSPECTS
Despite financial uncertainties, Lyu maintained a bullish outlook on the long-term development trajectory of the tech-powered cultural tourism market.
“China’s domestic market has presented a fertile ground for our business and we are quite confident about the future performance of the park,” Lyu mentioned.
China’s immersive cultural tourism section surged 24.1 p.c yr on yr in 2024 — underscoring the large potential within the tech-driven cultural consumption market, mentioned Beijing Academy of Science and Technology.
Lyu revealed that her agency plans to open extra points of interest on the sci-fi park, whereas stepping up branding and sharpening its technological competitiveness.
Ambitious about worldwide enlargement, she highlighted substantial abroad alternatives for Chinese cultural enterprises — figuring out Thailand and Japan as prime goal markets for the corporate’s international rollout.
Chinese cultural exports have entered a brand new section, that includes premium content material supply, technology-enabled capabilities and collaborative ecosystem improvement, mentioned Wei Pengju, senior researcher on the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing.