One Hugo Award does not a sci-fi culture make

Liu Cixin has won this year's Hugo Award for Best Novel for his The Three-Body Problem. In doing so, Liu has become the first Chinese science-fiction writer to win such a prestigious international award. His achievements in the field of science fiction are well known, and the Best Novel award, announced in Seattle on Aug 23, is indeed a breakthrough for Chinese sci-fi writers.

But is netizens' opinion that Liu has single-handedly taken Chinese sci-fi writing to the highest international level and filled the years of vacuum in the genre correct?

There is no denying Liu is an excellent sci-fi writer, and his personal achievements are immense. But despite that, sci-fi writing is still in a rather depressing stage in China judging by the overall standard of works. Also, science fiction attracts only a small group of Chinese readers.