Virtual reality boom brings giant robots, cyberpunk castles to China

GUIYANG, China: 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.
Welcome to China´s first virtual reality theme park, which 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 $8.5 billion by 2020.The 330-acre (134-hectare) park in southwestern Guizhou province promises 35 virtual reality attractions, from shoot-´em-up games and virtual rollercoasters 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," Chief Executive Chen Jianli told Reuters. "This is an innovative attraction, because it´s just different," he said in an interview at the park, part of which is scheduled to open next February.
The $1.5-billion Oriental Science Fiction Valley park, is part of China´s thrust to develop new drivers of growth centred on trends such as gaming, sports and cutting-edge technology, to cut reliance on traditional industries.
In the push to become a centre of innovative tech, Guizhou is luring firms such as Apple Inc, which has sited its China data centre there, while the world´s largest radio telescope is in nearby Pingtang county.
The park says it is the world´s first of its kind, although virtual reality-based attractions from the United States to Japan already draw interest from consumers and video gamers seeking a more immersive experience.
The Guiyang park will offer tourists bungee jumps from a huge Transformer-like robot, and a studio devoted to producing virtual reality movies. Most rides will use VR goggles and motion simulators to thrill users. "You feel like you´re really there," said Qu Zhongjie, the park´s manager of rides.
"That´s our main feature." China´s virtual reality market is expected to grow tenfold to 55.6 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) by the end of the decade, state-backed think-tank CCID has said.