'The Three-Body Problem' starts animation adaptation

SHANGHAI - Chinese online video sharing platform Bilibili on Wednesday evening launched the animation adaptation of Liu Cixin's sci-fi trilogy "The Three-Body Problem."

Officially named "Remembrance of Earth's Past," the three-part saga is more widely known by the name of its first book "The Three-Body Problem." Its plot revolves around young physicist Ye Wenjie's contact with the Trisolaran civilization living in a three-sun system and the following centuries-long clashes between earthlings and the aliens.

Chen Rui, CEO of Bilibili, said they would co-produce the animation with two other Chinese companies -- the Three-Body Universe (Shanghai) and Wuhan-based animation maker YHKT Entertainment.

Ruan Rui, CEO of YHKT Entertainment, said the animation is in the stage of script writing and will be shot with 3D technologies. Ruan did not reveal whether the animation will be a series or a film.

"Animation, as an image artform, is especially suitable for presenting science fiction content. I look forward to seeing the adaptation go beyond my imagination," Liu Cixin said at the launch ceremony.

China's sci-fi sector has long hoped that screen adaptations of the country's first Hugo Award winner could expand the influence of sci-fi written works, a niche market in China, allowing it to become more mainstream.

Earlier this year, the movie adaptation of Liu's "The Wandering Earth" gave the sci-fi movie industry strong impetus by becoming China's second-highest grossing movie of all time.

Bilibili, fondly nicknamed the "B Site," is particularly popular among China's younger generations with over 100 million monthly active users.