The 2018 China Science Fiction Conference opened in Shenzhen with great pomp and circumstance. The Science Fiction Foundation, in collaboration with Nantes, France, unveiled the Verne Project

On November 23, the 2018 China Science Fiction Convention opened in Shenzhen. Chen Gang, member of the Party Leadership Group and Secretary of the Secretariat of the China Association for Science and Technology, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech titled "Creating a Better Future for China's Science Fiction Industry Together". Jiang Yuyang, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress and Chairman of the Shenzhen Association for Science and Technology, and Li Fang, Vice President of Tencent, also delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. Liu Hong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shenzhen University, delivered a welcome speech. More than 1,000 people, including Chinese and foreign science fiction writers and scholars, representatives of scientists and science fiction industry, science fiction exhibitors, representatives of provincial science associations, representatives of science fiction fans across the country, and representatives of science fiction clubs in universities, attended the opening ceremony.

Chen Gang pointed out that to develop science fiction, it is necessary to strengthen top-level design, incorporate the development of science fiction into the important project of building scientific literacy among the whole people and into the overall arrangement of enhancing national cultural soft power, and promote the formulation of supportive policies at the national level. It is also necessary to actively unite the literary, film and television, academic, and industrial circles to form a science fiction alliance, jointly launch Chinese science fiction brands and science fiction awards with global influence, vigorously cultivate science fiction talents, promote science fiction education into classrooms, and actively facilitate the growth and prosperity of the new force of Chinese science fiction.

Jiang Yuyang stated that this conference will lay a broad public foundation for Shenzhen's development on the path of scientific and technological innovation, build a platform for science fiction practitioners, and provide favorable conditions for building a technologically powerful nation.

Liu Hongyi stated that Shenzhen University has cultivated hundreds of thousands of innovative and entrepreneurial talents for China's reform and opening-up. The convening of this conference at Shenzhen University can stimulate the enthusiasm of its students for science fiction literature.

At the opening ceremony, various science fiction awards such as the Galaxy Award, Waterdrop Award, and Morningstar Award were presented. Wang Jinkang's "Tian Tu" won the Best Short Story Award of this year's "Galaxy Award". "The Wandering Earth" and "Shanghai Fortress" were awarded the Special Jury Prize and the Most Anticipated IP Award by the organizing committee, respectively, for the "Waterdrop Award". Meanwhile, Li Lijun's "Selling Shells" and An Hui's "Children in Time" clinched the Best Medium-Length Science Fiction Novel Award and the Best Fantasy Art Illustration/Poster Award, respectively, for the "Morningstar Award".

At the opening ceremony of this conference, the initiation ceremony of the Galaxy Science Fiction Alliance and the establishment ceremony of the University Science Fiction Alliance were held, and the "2018 Science Fiction Industry Development Report" was released. Among them, Ma Guobin, the initiator of the SCIENCE & FANTASY GROWTH FOUNDATION, collaborated with the organizing committee of Nantes Science Fiction Festival, the largest science fiction festival in Europe, and Rachel Bocher, the representative of Nantes, to launch the "Future Speakers - Verne Cultivation Plan" and held an on-site signing ceremony. The plan is to fund Chinese science fiction artists to exhibit in Europe for ten consecutive years. Meanwhile, artists and writers who win awards in the Morningstar Science Fiction Competition hosted by the Science Fiction Fund each year may receive joint funding from both parties to directly go to France for creative residencies.

The SCIENCE & FANTASY GROWTH FOUNDATION, established in Shenzhen, is China's first and currently the only public welfare fund dedicated to promoting the development of the science fiction popularization industry. Through the "Morningstar Original Science Fiction Literature, Art, and Film Industry Series Competition", it has received nearly 2,050 entries from over 1,850 participants nationwide, including science fiction novels, science fiction scripts, art illustrations, animated videos, and other works. The total word count of the entries is over 30 million words, with an impact on more than 25 million people. The total prize money awarded is over 1 million yuan, and more than 50 promising science fiction creative talents have been discovered. Eighteen works have been published or are in the process of being published. Currently, it has become one of the most renowned science fiction IP original platforms in China.

At the end of the opening ceremony, a panel discussion was held on the theme of "The Path and Dilemmas of Sci-Fi IP Incubation", moderated by Zhang Ran, the initiator of the SCIENCE & FANTASY GROWTH FOUNDATION and a sci-fi writer, and attended by Yao Haijun, the planner, and Gong Geer, the producer of "The Wandering Earth", as well as other figures from the science and sci-fi community.

Science fiction and science coexist harmoniously, endowing people with the wings of imagination, stimulating their interest and enthusiasm for scientific exploration, and injecting vitality into technological innovation. Since the first China Science Fiction Conference was held in 2016, creating a platform for cooperation among all sectors, Chinese science fiction has made gratifying progress. Science fiction creation is in the ascendant, with a number of local science fiction blockbusters such as "The Wandering Earth" set to be released in succession. Science fiction organizations are becoming increasingly active. In the process of the integrated development of traditional and new media, the audience for science fiction continues to expand, and copyright exports and international exchanges are becoming more frequent. However, Chinese science fiction still faces constraints such as an insufficiently large creative team, an incomplete science fiction industry chain, and weak science fiction theoretical links.

The 2018 China Science Fiction Conference, themed "Fantasy Unbounded, Sharing the Future", focused on the development of the science fiction industry and the cultivation of young science fiction creative talents, providing a stage for university science fiction authors and science fiction communities. The conference was hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology, and co-organized by Tencent, Shenzhen Association for Science and Technology, SCIENCE & FANTASY GROWTH FOUNDATION, Science Fiction World Magazine, and Shenzhen University. It mainly included the opening ceremony, a closed-door meeting on the development of the science fiction industry, a symposium on the Science Popularization and Science Fiction Young Star Program, a TED Talk show on science fiction themes, over 30 high-quality science fiction themed forums, university science fiction themed debate competitions, science fiction art exhibitions, and creative markets and other science fiction related activities.

The Science Fiction Fund has organized various activities such as university-themed debate competitions, science fiction art exhibitions, and movie screenings, which have been highly sought after. These events have invited well-known debaters like Chen Ming and Hollywood science fiction artist Hurt, among other guests.