One of China’s poorest provinces wants to be a tech hub
Apple, Tencent and others are pouring money into Guizhou
A ROBOT taller than the Arc de Triomphe towers over a new theme park on the edge of Guiyang, the capital of the southern province of Guizhou. Attendants at Oriental Science Fiction Valley dress in blue-and-silver space suits. They greet visitors with salutes used by the Vulcans in “Star Trek”. The main attraction is an indoor rollercoaster. It simulates an air battle over a futuristic city with the help of virtual-reality headsets that are handed out to every rider. Outside, a troop of black-clad security guards armed with big sticks adds a genuine air of menace.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Bootstrapping a backwater”
From the June 2nd 2018 edition
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