Science fiction research institute opens in China, as business booms
- Chinese market for sci-fi publications grew more than 83 per cent last year to US$256 million
- School is a ‘dream come true for science fiction researchers’, says academic and published writer Li Yi
China’s growing passion for science fiction has spawned the country’s first research institute dedicated to the subject, and an academic magazine is set to follow next year.
The China Science Fiction Research Institute opened in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, last week with the aim of supporting the development of the sci-fi industry and related literary and artistic endeavours, Xinhua reported.
The joint venture between Sichuan University, the Sichuan Association for Science and Technology and Science Fiction World magazine will support academics in the development of a “science fiction theory system” and provide a platform for writers and enthusiasts, the report said.
It will also publish China Science Fiction Review, the first edition of which is set to hit the streets early next year.
Li Yi, dean of the School of Literature and Journalism at Sichuan University, with which the institute is affiliated, said its creation was “a dream comes true for science fiction researchers, including myself”.