A Sci-Fi Odyssey

The year 2014 was a special year for Chinese sci-fi fans.
That year, China’s bid to host the 2016 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) failed. “It often takes years for a new city to make the long-term plans necessary to win,” said Ji Shaoting, founder of the Future Affairs Administration (FAA), who was involved in the bidding process, quoting the co-chair of the Worldcon giving the team a pep talk. “Keep trying and you could get it in 15 years.”
So Ji didn’t expect the day to come so soon: Chengdu, capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan Province, will host the 81st Worldcon in 2023.

Career Change
Ji’s sci-fi passion was kindled by the book Around the World in Eighty Days she discovered at the age of nine. Childhood indulgence into the sci-fi world shaped the way she thinks as well as the way she observes the world today.
However, she never intended to make her passion a profession.
In 2006, Ji graduated from university and became a journalist. A year later, she had the opportunity to report on the International SF/Fantasy Conference in Chengdu, which was organized by the magazine Science Fiction World.
At the conference, Ji met Ji Shisan, who was pursuing a Ph.D. degree in biology at Fudan University in Shanghai, and the two became fast friends due to shared ideals and interest. Ji Shisan came to Beijing in 2008 and later established the Songshuhui-Association of Science Communicators and Guokr.com, focusing on popular science for the general public. Ji Shaoting was among the co-founders of both platforms.
“China’s sci-fi market was not as rosy as today back in 2013,” said Ji Shaoting. “The Chinese Nebula Awards organized by the World Chinese Science Fiction Association was subsidized by the remuneration of top Chinese sci-fi writers Liu Cixin and Han Song for years.” After discussions with Ji Shisan, Ji Shaoting founded the FAA under Guokr.com to contribute what she could. From there, she stood ready to delve deep into the sci-fi industry.
Ji Shaoting explained that the FAA is dedicated to causing the butterfly effect: changing the future of mankind through small decisions and actions today. The FAA aspires to “create a golden age for Chinese science fiction.”

Fresh Young Blood
The great golden age of sci-fi history usually refers to the period from the 1940s to the 1970s when popular sci-fi magazines garnered considerable readership among young people in the United States. In Ji’s view, a golden age emerges when stellar sci-fi writers and works bloom.
China lacks sci-fi writers today. Ji felt obliged to do something. In 2016, the FAA began to operate independently with focus on building a complete sci-fi industry chain. Ji resigned from her news job and plunged full-time into the sci-fi cause.
One of the fundamental missions of the FAA is to build an enabling and thriving environment for sci-fi authors.
To make that happen, the FAA launched a sci-fi writing club. People from all walks of life including students, doctors, and amateur writers have joined. Gradually, the trainees will inject fresh blood into Chinese science fiction. For mature writers, the FAA serves as an agent and more.
Nestled deep in the mountains in southwestern China’s Guizhou Province is the world’s largest single-aperture radio telescope, China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). When the last of 4,450 panels was hoisted and fitted into the radio telescope dubbed the “Sky Eye,” Liu Cixin, Han Song, and Ji Shaoting were all on-hand to witness the accomplishment. The opportunity was provided by the FAA and the telescope builder, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as part of the FAA’s sci-fi master workshop.
The workshop enables Chinese and foreign sci-fi creators to see cutting-edge technology and learn about the latest developments in China. Ji Shaoting suggested that their imaginations can reach further when they have seen the edge of the country’s innovative strength, which makes the experiences highly significant. “You could only predict the future with a better knowledge of today’s world,” she said. “Chinese science fiction is a microcosm of the country’s overall development in science and technology.”

Trailblazer in Sci-Fi Business
The FAA has also been exploring how to present sci-fi works in more innovative and connected ways. Its operations are not limited to books and writing. The sci-fi brand has formulated more popular business models like sci-fi-inspired movies, TV series, and video games. “Science fiction is an experimental field in which different industries mix and connect,” noted Ji Shaoting.
After completing its A+ round financing, the FAA’s valuation exceeds US$14.5 million. Now the first highly-valued sci-fi brand in China, the FAA seeks to expand the perception and definition of “science fiction” in society to impact business patterns in other industries. “Some existing industrial chains aren’t yet connected to science fiction. The FAA might be the bridge they need.”
“The future can hit you like heavy rain before you can reach for your umbrella,” said Liu Cixin.
As a matter of fact, the future has arrived.