The third Liu Cixin Hometown Sci-Fi Cultural Week kicked off at the "Yanquan Memory · 1947" Cultural Park in Yangquan city, Shanxi province, on Oct 13. The event was attended by renowned sci-fi writer Liu Cixin and Zhang Xiaotang, deputy director of the Shanxi Provincial Publicity Department. 

The third Liu Cixin Hometown Sci-Fi Cultural Week kicks off at the "Yanquan Memory · 1947" Cultural Park. [Photo/Yangquan Daily]

Yan Jingming, vice chairman of the China Writers Association, highlighted how Liu Cixin, who lives and works in Yangquan, has elevated Chinese sci-fi to the global stage through works like The Three-Body Problem. He noted that Liu's contributions have brought a futuristic and vibrant cultural glow to Shanxi, making "sci-fi" a prominent cultural symbol of the province.

This Sci-Fi Cultural Week serves as a concentrated showcase of Shanxi's sci-fi prowess and a platform for future-oriented intellectual exchange. Yan expressed hope that participants would fully utilize this opportunity for in-depth dialogue and use boundless imagination to illuminate the path forward.

Ju Zhen, mayor of Yangquan, emphasized the city's strategic focus on using its sci-fi resources to integrate culture, tourism, and technology, fostering a diverse development path. He called on experts from the academic, industry, and financial sectors to share their insights and help craft a new chapter in the integration of sci-fi, science popularization, and education.

With the theme "Embracing AI: Energizing Sci-Fi Development", this year's event features an AI Sci-Fi Works Exhibit, the 2025 China Mobile Science and Technology Museum Yangquan Tour, thematic dialogues, a seminar on the high-quality development of Shanxi's sci-fi literature, reader meet-and-greets, and sci-fi film screenings, all aimed at deepening the integration of sci-fi and technology.