Shougang Park lights up cooling towers with 3D light show ahead of trade services fair

As a support event for the upcoming 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), Beijing's Shougang Park, a former steel factory that has transformed its industrial heritage into a modern hub for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, on Saturday officially staged a naked-eye 3D light show projected onto its century-old industrial cooling towers, adding a new nighttime attraction to CIFTIS.

The 15-minute nighttime display is divided into three thematic chapters: "A City Blending Mountains and Waters," "Ode to an Era," and "Boundless Horizon."

The projection combines visual narratives of the factory's industrial heritage with the nearby Yongding River, utilizing synchronized lighting arrays across the surrounding area to create an immersive visual spectacle.

"It's really amazing, I think. The naked-eye 3D effect on this old industrial tower is also very striking, and I think it's really good," said Wang Bo, a visitor.

"Our cooling tower has a curved surface, specifically a hyperboloid. We need to digitally peel it apart layer by layer in the computer and flatten it out. Then, by stretching our 2D image, we can create a straight-on, perfectly squared-off visual effect," said Wang Xiao, who is in charge of the light show.

The light show will run nightly through next Sunday. Following the official opening of CIFTIS on Wednesday, the schedule will be expanded to three screenings per night.

The trade fair this year is set to be held from Sept 9 to 13 at the Shougang Park in Beijing, with its preparatory work now entering the final stage. The fair will bring together exhibitors from over 90 countries and international organizations, along with more than 1,800 companies.

Shougang Park lights up cooling towers with 3D light show ahead of trade services fair

The Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE) and the China-based International Deep Space Exploration Association signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, marking a new push for bilateral cooperation in deep space research.

The document was signed Thursday at the opening ceremony of this year's International Deep Space Exploration Conference. ALCE Secretary General Oscar Fredy Gonzalez Rivera described the MOU as a starting point for tangible future outcomes.

"This agreement is only the beginning. Now our task is to carry out concrete, achievable projects so that our countries can benefit," Rivera said.

With the international community increasingly focused on deep space research, the secretary general expressed the hope that the MOU will give developing countries a stronger foothold in lunar and planetary missions.

"Lunar and Mars exploration is now entering a new stage. Our goal is that our researchers and scientists not only study missions, but in the future will be able to take part in and carry out a mission," he said.

China's deep space association signs MOU with LatAm, Caribbean counterpart