Chinese sci-fi: A new way to know China

The Three-Body Problem was adapted into a stage play this year. [Photo/Weibo]

Does it seem that Chinese science fiction has taken the world by storm? Not really. In the world of science fiction, the West still dominates. And our domestic science fiction commercial chains have a long way to go before resting on their laurels.

Just take science fiction movies as an example. No landmark film has been made in the field so far. Compared with influential western counterparts such as The Martian, Inception and Star Trek, Chinese science fiction movies are still in the initial stage.

According to an insider, more than 80 related movies have been registered this year at the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, the country's top film media office, representing a sharp contrast to no registrations last year.

"To take advantage of the science fiction movie craze, the Chinese science fiction film industry should move forward in a professional, commercialized and localized manner. China enjoys a splendid and profound civilization with rich materials that can be tapped into. How to turn localization into globalization is a challenge we need to meet," movie critic Zhang Xiaobei suggested.

"Different from comedies, an integrated part of the Chinese movie market, science fiction films represent a niche market in China in dire need of care and support. Generally speaking, a science fiction film reflects multi-level relationships including man-to-man, man-to-alien, man-to-nature and nature-to-alien, which may not appeal to the majority of audiences. Therefore, a complete science fiction film mechanism should be set up as soon as possible," said fellow movie critic Yan Peng.

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