How a poor Chinese province is betting on giant robots and cyberpunk castles to boost incomes

Giant robots and futuristic cyberpunk castles rise out of lush mountain slopes on the outskirts of Guiyang, the capital of one of China’s poorest provinces.

China’s first virtual reality theme park aims to ride a boom in demand for virtual entertainment that is set to propel tenfold growth in the country’s virtual reality market, to hit almost US$8.5 billion by 2020.

The 134-hectare park in southwestern Guizhou province promises 35 virtual reality attractions, from shoot-’em-up games and virtual roller coasters to tours with interstellar aliens of the region’s most scenic spots.

“After our attraction opens, it will change the entire tourism structure of Guizhou province as well as China’s southwest,” says chief executive Chen Jianli.

“This is an innovative attraction, because it’s just different,” he says.

Microsoft wants to put virtual reality in your home for only US$399

The US$1.5 billion Oriental Science Fiction Valley park, part of which is scheduled to open next February, is part of China’s plan to develop new drivers of growth centred on trends such as gaming, sports and cutting-edge technology, to cut reliance on traditional industries.