AI aviation sci-fi theme park launched in Shanghai

China

AI aviation sci-fi theme park launched in Shanghai

2026-05-13 20:28 Last Updated At：22:57

An AI aviation science fiction theme park in Shanghai's Lingang New Area opened to the media for the first time on Monday, allowing the first batch of visitors to experience what it might feel like a "landing on the far side of the moon" in advance.

The theme park centers around the "Nantianmen Project", China's homegrown sci-fi aerospace intellectual property.

The Nantianmen Project builds an imaginative world that integrates technology, equipment and character narratives from a Chinese perspective. The project weaves together multiple cutting-edge technologies -- including hypersonic flight, dual-mode aerospace propulsion, metamaterial stealth, directed-energy weapons and AI-assisted decision-making -- into a conceptual system centered on sci-fi fighter jets.

Many concept models from the Nantianmen Project have been displayed at air shows in China.

The "Guanghan Base 06 Hangar," one of the five sections of the park, invites visitors to step into a fictional base established by humans on the far side of the moon, based on the storyline of "Nantianmen Project," and immerse them as recruits in a deep-space defense force.

"The entire tour lasts about one and a half hours to two hours, roughly equivalent to the length of a movie," said Zhou Yixiao, general manager of the theme park.

He added that visitors can discover hidden games and storylines throughout the tour.

At the center of the hangar stands a full-scale model of the famed "Baidi" sci-fi fighter jet from the Nantianmen Project. Visitors can wear a headset and experience the simulated pre-flight checks. The park also plans to incorporate AI interactive content into the tour in the future.

Spanning 80,000 square meters, the park is set to open to the public on Aug 1, 2027. It will cooperate with other major attractions in Shanghai, including the Shanghai Astronomy Museum, the Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park, and the Yaoxue Ice and Snow World, and is expected to become one of the city's most popular cultural tourism destinations.

"Shanghai has a rich aviation culture and a long aviation history. It can serve as a key hub for science education and research in regional cultural tourism," said Ding Li, editor-in-chief of AVIC Global Cultural Communication (Beijing) Co Ltd.

China's 2026 box office surpasses 14 bln yuan

China's 2026 box office revenue had surpassed 14 billion yuan (about 2.06 billion U.S. dollars) as of Tuesday, fueled by a diverse array of hit movies and consumption promotion campaigns.

The film industry got off to a strong start during the Spring Festival holiday. "Pegasus 3," the latest installment in director Han Han's racing comedy franchise, amassed over 4 billion yuan and remains the year's top grossing film so far.

Released during the Qingming Festival, the comedy drama "It's OK" focused on a mother-daughter bond and resonated strongly with young women, topping April's box office chart with more than 160 million yuan in ticket sales.

During the just concluded May Day holiday, "Dear You," a low budget film in the Chaoshan (Teochew) dialect featuring an almost entirely first-time cast, became one of China's biggest cinematic surprises of 2026. As the highest rated domestic release so far this year, the tear-jerking drama had raked in over 180 million yuan as of Wednesday afternoon.

The five-day May Day holiday, a key period for movie-going, drew more than 20.8 million people to cinemas, a 10 percent jump from a year ago, while the number of screenings rose 2 percent to nearly 2.4 million.

Bolstered by the "2026 China Film Consumption Year" and "China Travel with Chinese Films" initiatives, cinema spending has become a major driver of cultural and tourism consumption. The entire film industry chain has generated over 220 billion yuan in output value since January.