View source for Chengdu, Sichuan

'''Chengdu''' is the capital city of the west central province of Sichuan, [[China]]. Known as the "panda capital of China" and a center of science, innovation and research, it is more important to [[science fiction]] as a hotspot of genre [[publishing]] and [[con-running]], and the site of the [[Chengdu Science Fiction Museum]] (built in 2023).

Chengdu was [[2023 Worldcon Site Selection|selected]] as the site of the [[2023 Worldcon]].  

Regarded by the Chinese [[SF community]] as the "capital of Chinese SF," Chengdu is home to [[professional]] groups like [[Eight Light Minutes Culture]] and SFW Publishing, publishers of ''[[Science Fiction World (China)]]'', the biggest circulation Chinese [[prozine]]; the magazine was established in 1979 and began the annual [[Galaxy Awards]] in 1985. Chengdu is also flourishing with SF-related industries like game developers, film and television.

The Chinese [[sf community]] came into Western notice in May 1989, when [[Yang Xiao]], editor of ''[[Science Fiction World (China)]]'' magazine (then called ''Science Literature'') traveled by herself to the San Marino [[Eurocon 1989]] held concurrently with the [[World SF: An Organization of SF Professionals]] conference, and [[bid]] to hold the 1991 World SF conference in Chengdu. Together with [[Xiang Jichun]] (arts editor of ''Science Literature'') and [[Shen Zaiwang]], Yang next attended [[ConFiction]], the 1990 [[Worldcon]] in the [[Netherlands]], where her bid won over [[Poland]] and [[Yugoslavia]] despite the fraught atmosphere after the Tiananmen Square protests massacre (see ''[[Shards of Babel]]'' for some mentions of this, and the following World SF presidency elections controversy).

[[Malcolm Edwards]] reported that the 1991 World SF Conference in China was the best to date, with over 300 SF authors and editors attending. That was the first [[Chengdu International Science Fiction and Fantasy Conference]] launched by Yang; with the fourth event, in 2017, it is now biennial. 

* [http://www.chengdu.gov.cn/english/ Government website.]
*[https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/chengdu-invests-usd18-billion-to-build-sci-fi-town-looks-to-become-cultural-hub-in-western-china “Chengdu Invests USD1.8 Billion to Build Sci-Fi Town, Looks to Become Cultural Hub in Western China”] (''YiCai Global'', November 13, 2017). 


{{Locale|locale=Sichuan, China}}
[[Category:asia]]