Chinese city bets big on virtual reality, with theme park and US$148 million start-up fund

Tourist attraction is highlight of Nanchang’s ‘VR base’ – a sprawling complex of mostly empty, futuristic glass-and-steel offices

Government is hoping to drive sector by educating students, subsidising office spaces, and sponsoring conferences and competitions

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Virtual reality bumper cars are just one of the rides on offer at the Star VR theme park in Nanchang. Photo: AP

Published: 4:17pm, 28 Apr 2019Updated: 10:43pm, 28 Apr 2019

Liu Zixing craned his neck forward for help with fastening the goggles for his first ever taste of virtual reality. He took a break from the mining ore business to travel to a VR theme park in Nanchang, an east China city not known for high technology.

“It feels like reality,” Liu said after shooting down robots in a virtual fighter jet, strapped to a spinning gyroscope lit in purple. “It’s just like you’re riding in a plane.”

Enthusiasm for virtual reality has cooled somewhat after years of hype, but China’s leaders are trying to drum up excitement, hoping to take the lead in a technology they expect will eventually gain wide use.

Hoping to coax home-grown entrepreneurs to take the plunge, the government is educating students, subsidising office spaces, and sponsoring conferences and competitions.

Nanchang’s virtual reality Star park offers 42 rides and exhibits. Photo: AP

Nanchang’s virtual reality Star park offers 42 rides and exhibits, including bumper cars and shoot ’em ups. It’s the highlight of Nanchang’s “virtual reality base”, a sprawling complex of mostly still empty, futuristic glass-and-steel offices.