Renowned figures gather amidst flickering lights. On April 28th, the 2nd Science Fiction Planet Awards Ceremony of the 8th China Science Fiction Convention and Beijing Science Fiction Film Night were held at 33MetaClub of Blast Furnace No. 1 SoReal Science Fiction Paradise in Shougang Park. At the 2nd Science Fiction Planet Awards Ceremony, Blast Furnace No. 1 SoReal Science Fiction Paradise won the Best Science Fiction Product Innovation Championship Award.

With flickering lights and the shuttling of reality and virtuality, the 2024 China Science Fiction Convention and Beijing Science Fiction Film Night, co-sponsored by the Shijingshan District People’s Government and Shougang Group, kicked off.

Blast Furnace No. 1 in Shougang Park was newly decorated, and stepping into the venue was like boarding a starship. Dazzling neon lights and energetic music and dance quickly transported the visitors into a unique futuristic space journey. Well-known science fiction filmmakers, science fiction writers, scientists, and newcomers to the industry gathered here, showcasing the vigorous development of the science fiction film and television industry.

Science Fiction Film Night featured the release of science fiction projects, presentations of filming locations, short film recommendations, and other links. Representatives of the embassies of Jordan and Uruguay in China attended and gave thematic lectures on the filming locations and various types of filming in their respective countries, further enhancing the international level of the film night. In addition, the screenings of science fiction films held in Blast Furnace No. 3 provided a breathtaking visual feast for science fiction fans, creating a space to experience new science fiction films and preview science fiction creativity in advance.

As the first global comprehensive science fiction awards independently created by China, the Science Fiction Planet Awards hold an award evaluation every year by combining recommendations and registration. Since its launch in June 2023, the evaluation for the 2nd Science Fiction Planet Awards has received 458 valid project applications from Japan, Italy, the United States, Canada, Germany, and other countries and regions, as well as 28 provinces and cities and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan in China. Ten championship awards were finally selected, namely Best Science Fiction Creation Technology, Best Science Fiction Experience Technology, Best Science Fiction Product Innovation, Best Science Fiction Full-length Novel, Best Science Fiction Novella, Best Science Fiction Short Story, Best Science Fiction Film, Best Science Fiction Drama, Best Science Fiction Enlightenment Work, and the Outstanding Contribution Award. Additionally, 27 outstanding winners were selected.

Shougang Blast Furnace No. 1 SoReal Science Fiction Paradise, the winner of the Best Science Fiction Product Innovation Championship Award, was jointly built by Dang Hong Qi Tian and the Shougang Group. On the basis of retaining the original structure and external industrial architectural features of Blast Furnace No. 1 in Shougang Park to the maximum extent, 5G + XR and other technologies were used to regenerate this century-old industrial site. It is the first cultural tourism project in China to use the “5G + computing power network” to realize a new scene of “wide-area and large-space VR interaction” and build an “unbounded” metaverse. It is also the first international cultural and technological park to combine XR technology with industrial heritage. Future technology parks, themed shows, art exhibitions, restaurants and bars, experiential businesses, and other formats provide tourists with a metaverse space that integrates culture, entertainment, science popularization, catering, retail, and services. It has become a popular destination for tourists to visit and experience. During the Spring Festival this year, limited pre-sale tickets were made available and were difficult to obtain. The integration of industrial heritage resources and innovative science and technology culture has brought forth brand-new vitality and vigor, truly becoming a vivid practical example of Shougang Park building “one highland” and “one fulcrum”.

Tōya Tachihara, Japanese novelist and translator, associate professor at Hokusei Gakuen University, and member of the Chinese Science Fiction Research Institute, received the Outstanding Contribution Award. She said that this was her first visit to Shougang Park, and it was quite different from what she had imagined as a steel plant; she did not expect it to be so big. Once an industrial factory, it now houses many science fiction projects and looks completely new, which is gratifying and very interesting.

Our Martians won the Best Science Fiction Novella Championship Award of the Science Fiction Literature Awards, and its author Baoshu expressed his joy on social media: “I’m very happy to see many faces both familiar and new in Shougang Park, a place full of industrial aesthetics. Shougang Park is grand, magnificent, and comfortable! Being here is truly awe-inspiring! It used to be a steel factory, but it still retains a sense of its vicissitudes and history. Embedding a futuristic space into Blast Furnace No. 1 creates a dreamlike and enchanting fusion of past and future. This setting greatly inspires our creation and imagination; it’s very interesting.”

Li Shanshan from the company that won the Best Science Fiction Creation Technology Outstanding Award said, “I’m very excited to receive this award at Shougang Park. The environment here is particularly pleasant with a vibrant scientific and technological atmosphere. I can sense the thriving development of the science fiction industry here, and it has become a gathering place for science fiction practitioners. I hope more science fiction writers and enterprises at home and abroad will cooperate with Shougang.”

During the event, witnessed by the guests, the 3rd Science Fiction Planet Awards were officially launched. The participants expressed their hopes that the future of the Science Fiction Planet Awards will shine like a bright star, illuminating the vast world of Chinese science fiction literature.

Science fiction is upgrading and thriving. At present, Shougang Park has formed a high-tech industrial system dominated by industries including science fiction, artificial intelligence, Internet 3.0, and aerospace. Shougang Park has successively won such honors as “Beijing Science Fiction Industry Cluster Area” and “Zhongguancun Characteristic Industrial Park”. From the concept of “science fiction industry cluster area” to the establishment of specialized and sophisticated enterprises and high-tech industries, and then to “industrial services”, the vibrant industrial land of Shougang Park is glowing with new momentum. Emerging as a symbol of science fiction, Shougang Park has become a new highland for industrial agglomeration and an “ideal destination” for high-tech industries.