Virtual Reality amusement park opens in China

A new virtual reality (VR) theme park has opened in Nanchang, the capital of eastern China's Jiangxi Province. It is attracting thousands of visitors every day according to a number of Asian media outlets.

The Oriental Science Fiction Valley covers 13,000 metres2, accommodating 120 sets of advanced VR amusement equipment imported from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Wang Xiaoqing, Vice General Manager of the attraction advised "wearing equipment, visitors can experience exciting games, such as deep sea exploration, flying and jungle bungee jumping."

Wang Cuifang, an associate professor of VR industry with the Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, commented "there are only a few large-scale VR amusement parks like this in China."

Wang said that relying on continually updated VR technologies, the VR amusement industry has huge market potential.

Last month, a VR/AR (augmented reality) science and technology museum opened to the public free of charge in Nanchang. Aiming at popularising VR technology, visitors can find the application of VR technology in diverse fields, such as education, exhibition and automobile repair.

In the rush to embrace VR, the province of Jiangxi in 2016 launched China's first industrial base for VR, and the city of Nanchang now boasts over 200 VR-related firms.

Nanchang hosted the 2018 World Conference on the VR Industry in October, featuring VR, the latest VR products, artificial intelligence and 5G technology.

China's VR industry has witnessed rapid growth in recent years. The country's VR market expanded 164% year-on-year to reach $3.3 billion in 2017. The market is likely to exceed $18 billion by 2020, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Back in April, the theme park, Oriental Science Fiction Valley opened in Guizhou, China which uses virtual reality for all of its attractions.

Spanning 330 acres, the park contains 35 virtual reality rides, including spaceship tours, virtual roller coasters, and shooter games. There are no traditional coasters at Oriental Science Fiction Valley, but there are sci-fi-inspired castles and giant robots positioned throughout the grounds.

Oriental Science Fiction Valley Chief Executive Chen Jianli added “there’s fierce competition in the theme park market right now.

“We are trying to give customers a new experience by combining modern technologies such as VR and [augmented reality] with traditional recreational facilities. The sci-fi part of it is important for the feeling it creates.”

Oriental Science Fiction Valley was the first to use VR on all of its attractions, while various stateside theme parks, for example, have begun to adopt the technology for a small number of rides.

Image top of Oriental Science Fiction Valley