Chinese sci-fi works are not only read by locals, but also by foreign readers. (Photo : Getty Images)
More foreign readers become hooked in Chinese science fiction works around the world. Folding Beijing, a sci-fi short story by Hao Jingfang, is gaining more interest among avid sci-fi fans from various regions around the globe.
Beijing Sci-Fi Book Club members speak highly of Folding Beijing.
The book tells the story of Lao Dao, a waste worker living in the Third Space during Beijing's dystopian yet fantastical future.
The other two regions of the city include the First Space for the elite, and the Second Space for the middle class.
Lao Dao wants to send his daughter to school. In desperation, he finds a seemingly easy job: to deliver a letter.
The problem is, he must be able to bring the letter from the Second Space to the First Space, a journey that will show him that there's more to life than the poor region where he comes from.
Each sci-fi fan has a different story to tell as to why he or she likes the Chinese short story. Some fans praised Jingfang for the effective usa of language to create a personal connection between local Chinese places and the reader. Others like how they were able to understand the plot because of the outstanding Chinese-to-English translation.
Some readers want to categorize the highly acclaimed literary work as a social fantasy rather than a sci-fi story.
Members of the book club, which was organized by Olga Alimova, meet at the Bookworm. They discuss about their favorite literature in the science fiction genre. Alimova said that Folding Beijing is a well-written story that brings crucial questions into the limelight.
Jingfang received a nomination from Hugo Award for Folding Beijing.
Alimova told the Global Times that the members of the book club have met to discuss 30 sci-fi works so far. Among them include "The Three-Body Problem," which is also a commended Chinese novel that takes readersback to China's Cultural Revolution.
