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| A view of the Oriental Science Fiction Valley theme park at sunset |
Giant robots and futuristic cyberpunk castles rise out of lush mountain slopes on the outskirts of Guiyang, the capital of one of Chinaโs poorest provinces.
Welcome to Chinaโs first virtual reality theme park, which aims to ride a boom in demand for virtual entertainment that is set to propel tenfold growth in the countryโs virtual reality market, to hit almost $8.5 billion by 2020.
The 330-acre (134-hectare) park in southwestern Guizhou province promises 35 virtual reality attractions, from shoot-โem-up games and virtual rollercoasters to tours with interstellar aliens of the regionโs most scenic spots.
โAfter our attraction opens, it will change the entire tourism structure of Guizhou province as well as Chinaโs southwest,โ Chief Executive Chen Jianli told Reuters.
โThis is an innovative attraction, because itโs just different,โ he said in an interview at the park, part of which is scheduled to open next February.
The $1.5-billion Oriental Science Fiction Valley park, is part of Chinaโs thrust to develop new drivers of growth centred on trends such as gaming, sports and cutting-edge technology, to cut reliance on traditional industries.
In the push to become a centre of innovative tech, Guizhou is luring firms such as Apple Inc, which has sited its China data centre there, while the worldโs largest radio telescope is in nearby Pingtang county.
The park says it is the worldโs first of its kind, although virtual reality-based attractions from the United States to Japan already draw interest from consumers and video gamers seeking a more immersive experience.
The Guiyang park will offer tourists bungee jumps from a huge Transformer-like robot, and a studio devoted to producing virtual reality movies. Most rides will use VR goggles and motion simulators to thrill users.
โYou feel like youโre really there,โ said Qu Zhongjie, the parkโs manager of rides. โThatโs our main feature.โ
Chinaโs virtual reality market is expected to grow tenfold to 55.6 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) by the end of the decade, state-backed think-tank CCID has said.
Farmers in the nearby village of Zhangtianshui said they were concerned about pollution from big developments, but looked forward to the economic benefits a new theme park would bring. Most were less sure about virtual battles or alien invasions, though.
โThere are lots of good things that come out of these projects,โ one farmer, Liu Guangjun, told Reuters. โAs for the virtual reality, I donโt really understand it.โ
