High-five for China's sci-fi on high tides

BEIJING — China's science fiction sector has evolved over the past decade from a small circle into a lush ecosystem spanning movies, games and virtual reality tours, with observers now eyeing long-term growth to follow an era of meteoric rise.

In 2015, Liu Cixin won a Hugo Award for his sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem, and the ensuing sci-fi craze catapulted the previously niche genre into the mainstream in China. The following year, the inaugural China Science Fiction Convention was held in Beijing to chart the sector's development.

In the decade that followed, China's sci-fi industry has expanded beyond the literary circle to roll out a stream of breakout hits, including the record-shattering blockbuster The Wandering Earth, the anime series Ling Cage, and the globally popular game Honkai: Star Rail.

All these phenomenal successes have helped scale up the industry, whose total revenue reached 126.1 billion yuan ($18.34 billion) in 2025, according to a recent report issued by the China Research Institute for Science Popularization.

This marks the third consecutive year in which the industry's total revenue has exceeded 100 billion yuan, said Chen Ling, a researcher with the institute, as she elaborated on the report at the recent China Science Fiction Convention 2026 in Beijing.

In breakdown, sci-fi literature generated 5.19 billion yuan in revenue in 2025, continuing an eight-year growth streak. Sci-fi video games raked in 77.91 billion yuan, the largest among the five core sectors and representing a yearly growth of 8.5 percent.

Revenue of sci-fi films and TV shows climbed 21.6 percent last year to reach 8.16 billion yuan, though the sector has fluctuated in recent years due to an unstable supply.

In addition, derivative products chalked up revenue of 7.07 billion yuan, up 179.4 percent. Themed tourism, a relatively recent addition to the sci-fi industry, also logged a 13.8-percent rise in revenue.

Wang Chunfa, president of the China Science Writers Association, said China's sci-fi industry has forged a multi-format value chain extending from upstream original content creation to midstream film, TV and game adaptations, and downstream to theme parks and derivatives.

"The industry has shed its nascent state, is no longer fragmented and has put on substantial scale," he said.

"A decade ago, Chinese sci-fi was predominantly text-based. Since then, we have seen excellent works emerge across diverse formats," said Ji Shaoting, head of the sci-fi agency Future Affairs Administration.

Apart from domestic sci-fi films, TV dramas and games, she said new vehicles of Chinese sci-fi now include VR tours, audiobooks, radio dramas and commercials.

Ji and other industry insiders believe that the market's long-term expansion will be underpinned by unabated public enthusiasm for science fiction, bolstered by the nation's ongoing technological boom.

"Sci-fi has transitioned from a marginal subculture to a mainstream culture (in China)," Wang said. "Society, scholars and businesses alike are embracing sci-fi with unparalleled openness."

One particular contributor is China's thriving video game sector, which has often incorporated sci-fi elements to appeal to the country's 683 million gamers.

"The gaming industry is creating a new generation of sci-fi natives, from whom many talented creators will also emerge," said Hu Xuan, a researcher with Tencent Research Institute.

On the supply side, however, analysts say Chinese sci-fi still faces challenges, including immature IP management and insufficient market understanding.

"The industry relies heavily on a few top-notch IPs. A sustainable, multi-level supply structure is yet to be established," Wang said.

It is estimated that China published between 500 and over 700 sci-fi books in 2025, depending on how one defines the genre.

"But many books are published based on our recommendations," said Wu Yan, a professor from the Southern University of Science and Technology. "What are their market impacts, and what do readers really like? These questions require more academic studies."