Building a "Science Fiction City": Shenzhen Worth Expecting
Jianguo Chen
As early as 2019, Shenzhen was evaluated as one of the "Top 10 Science Fiction Cities in China", and it received this honor twice more in 2023 and 2024. So, what's the ecological environment for science fiction in Shenzhen? What opportunities and challenges does it face in building a "Science Fiction City"?
Since the 21st century, Shenzhen has experienced rapid development from nothing to something, and from small to large. Up until now, Shenzhen has had a batch of science fiction writers and workers such as Wang Jin-Kang, Wu Yan, Chen Qi-Fan, Hai Xia, Wang Nuo-Nuo, Tan Gang, Fuhao Orange, Yuan Bo, Jia Ni, Zhang Ran, Ma Guo-Bin, Sanfeng, Xie Chen, and Chen Fa-Xiang. Especially since 2015, Liu Cixin's novel "Three Body Problem" won the highest award in science fiction, Hugo Award, and the film adaptation of "The Three-Body Problem" was a huge success. China's science fiction entered a new era and reached a new height, and Shenzhen's science fiction also welcomed its development spring: the Science and Fantasy Foundation, the South University of Technology's Research Center for Science and Human Imagination, and the Science Fiction Creation and Industrialization Research Center, etc., were established one after another. Many science fiction works such as "China Railway Number", "Mars Orphan", "Time-Space Painter", "Winner's Paradise", "Floating Life", "Three-Day Moon", "Earth Gods", "Starting Point", "Cloud Dream", and "Cloud Body" have continued to emerge; awards such as Hugo Award, Galaxy Award, National Excellent Children's Literature Award, Global Chinese Science Fiction Star Cloud Award, People's Literature Award, Hundred-Flower Literary Award, Shenzhen Top 10 Excellent Works Award, etc., were won in various categories. This has created a high-profile moment for Shenzhen science fiction and formed the outline of "Science Fiction City". Worth mentioning is that Shenzhen also cultivates a group of young science fiction enthusiasts and writers through the "Fengyun" Youth Science Fiction Literature Award, especially the new forces represented by Huang Zijun, Ouyang Ziyi, etc., have risen up and injected fresh blood into Shenzhen's science fiction creation.
In recent years, to build a "Science Fiction City", Shenzhen has actively introduced policies and measures to encourage technological innovation, attract various innovative talents, create a relaxed and open cultural environment, provide sufficient creative materials for science fiction creation, and form a harmonious ecology. In addition, Shenzhen's strong technological innovation capabilities, inclusive cultural atmosphere, diverse immigrant cultures, highly developed cultural creative industry, have provided a unique soil for science fiction creation, forming an advantage in the science fiction ecological development, making it an indispensable place in the global science fiction creation field.
On this basis, Shenzhen's science fiction creation and technological innovation have co-evolved. On the one hand, Shenzhen's technological innovation has provided rich materials and inspirations for science fiction creation, driving the development of science fiction works in terms of themes, subject matter, and presentation forms; on the other hand, science fiction creation through imagination and creativity has inspired technological innovation, providing new ideas and directions for Shenzhen's technological innovation. The two have promoted each other's development.
Looking at all these factors, Shenzhen faces a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in building a "Science Fiction City". However, challenges will come with opportunities. For example, the celebrity effect problem. When it comes to China's science fiction, Liu Cixin and his works are well-known, but few others can "fly into ordinary people's homes"; when it comes to Shenzhen's science fiction, besides Wu Yan, Chen Qi-Fan, Hai Xia, etc., most people have difficulty rising to the occasion and getting out of their comfort zone. Again, the uneven regional development problem. Currently, the Nanshan District is thriving in science fiction creation, giving birth to a batch of new science fiction writers and research institutions, together creating a forward-looking science fiction energy that drives continuous innovation. The "Fengyun" Youth Science Fiction Literature Award has also been gaining influence day by day, playing a positive role in Shenzhen's science fiction development and radiating throughout the country. Other districts lack significant infrastructure in science fiction creation or industry.
Despite this, I remain optimistic about Shenzhen's prospects for building a "Science Fiction City". Just as Liu Cixin said at the 2018 China Science Fiction Conference, "Shenzhen is the most innovative city in China and a young, sci-fi-colored city with a sense of future. Now, China's science fiction center, including industrial centers, science fiction activities, reader groups, and writer groups, are beginning to shift towards Shenzhen and Shanghai. Shenzhen may become China's Science Fiction City soon." Then, how can Shenzhen seize the new era opportunities in this round of "Science Fiction Fever"? What paths can it take to build a "Science Fiction City"? Let's start from three aspects. First, we must maintain a sincere attitude, absorb and utilize excellent traditional science fiction resources such as "Shan Hai Jing" and "Sou Shen Ji", as well as learn and borrow from domestic and foreign excellent science fiction works like "Three Body Problem", "Silver River Empire", and "Space Odyssey". We must also firmly root ourselves in Shenzhen's soil, telling the stories of Shenzhen science fiction to readers and audiences around the world, creating unique science fiction works that are characteristic of Shenzhen. Second, we must grasp state and provincial policies that support and encourage high-level science fiction creation exchange platforms, product development sharing platforms, and comprehensive promote science fiction creation and related industries fusion development. We can establish an international influence science fiction award to further boost the development of Shenzhen's science fiction industry. Third, we must actively implement the science fiction talent training plan, placing a high value on cultivating young people's scientific literacy, so that they can give birth to more interdisciplinary, crossover, and composite-type science fiction innovation, creativity, creation, and talents.
Believe it or not, with the continuous enhancement of technological capabilities, the continued upgrade of cultural industries, and the increasing international influence, Shenzhen will definitely become a true "Science Fiction City" in the near future. Looking forward to the day when Shenzhen science fiction will play a leading role globally, becoming an important base for global science fiction creation, and contributing unique Shenzhen wisdom and strength to China's and the world's science fiction development.
This column article represents the author's personal opinion