Unveiling Chaoyang's Weibo IN Interdimensional Gravitational Zone

The October National Day holiday is no stranger to grand openings, and the most recent holiday was no exception, with the opening of the unwieldily named Weibo IN Interdimensional Gravitational Zone (微博in跨次元引力场), to which Chaoyang District's official WeChat invited everyone to “come and join us for this magical Gen-Z carnival!” Okay, boomer. But what is this new 55,000sqm “youth energy”-fueled mixed-use commercial/cultural complex inside east Chaoyang Park? 

Firstly, it's Chaoyang's first stab at an Olympic urban renewal project, spurred by 2019 calls from the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee for better post-Games utilization of venues. Now with funding from Sina Weibo, the former Olympic Volleyball Stadium has been transformed into Weibo IN, encompassing an outdoor market area, music stage, skateboarding park (forthcoming) and beach leisure spot (reclaiming sand from the old volleyball venue, of course). The zone is expected to host 100+ esports matches and 300+ IP-related activities yearly, in addition to events such as the Jazz Festival and Market, which was underway as I sauntered over during opening week.

The jewel at the center is the aforementioned Interdimensional Gravitational Zone, a four-floor 42,000sqm ACGN (anime, comic, game, novel) paradise of clean geometric curves and futuristic anode aluminum oxide plates. The third floor, the 1,500-seat capacity E-sports Diamond Center venue launched eight months ago and serves as home turf for Beijing's Honor of Kings (a multiplayer online battle arena video game) team WB. It is currently the largest such dedicated venue in northern China, equipped for professional tournaments and leagues such as the King Pro League (Honor of Kings tournament). 

Also launched months ago is the full-body wireless Three-Body science fiction VR immersive game, Three-Body Game: Fragments of Civilization. Reviews have been strong, and there's even a whole store given over to Three-Body merch. The new part runs from B1 to the second floor – the shopping, eating and general mall-rat hanging-out portion. The buzz was palpable on my own visit, with plenty of visitors out in cosplay getups. Several events were running concurrently. A Genshin Impact Anniversary Event and huge displays celebrating the birthday of a virtual character from the mega-hit Love and Deepspace game. There are regular dance parties and organized flash mobs of various fandoms coming together. There were image booths, 3D chocolate printers, special beanbag nooks for chilling out and mini-sets decked out for photos.

Besides this, there's a bakery along with gelato, coffee, tea, hot pot, fried chicken and the like. So you're covered for food and beverages, too. There are also exhibition spaces, currently showcasing indie art toy figures from the upcoming Amazing Toy Show, hitting Beijing at the end of this month. Though a group of three punked-up middle-aged toy designers I spotted huddled together chatting seemed a little out of place amongst all this “youth energy.” Young in spirit, I guess.

Here are some of the other highlights for curious visitors wanting to get the most out of their experience. Remember, it's still early days, so there'll be even more in the coming months, including an outlet related to ball-jointed dolls (BJD) and Takara Tomy (a major Japanese toy-maker).

Xcartoys

A Beijing-based miniature car company making top-notch die-cast models of classic and new domestic brands. They even do kuaidi delivery tricycles and Niu electric scooters! This is only their second physical store after their flagship in Wangfujing. As Chinese car brands go from strength to strength, it's cool to collect some of this history.

OHP Card Shop 

If you're a fan of the long-running Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh! card games, this may be the spot for you. Ample table space for a game or two.

Sootang Hobby 

A one-stop shop for hobby model kits. There's Gunpla (even mega-sized models), Transformers, Megahouse, Tamashii Nations and Meng.

bilibiliGoods 

Bilibili is the ultimate geek streaming/comics platform in China. They also fund a significant amount of the best in games, comics and animation coming out of China too. So likely as not, your favorite domestic IP products can be nabbed here.

Weibo IN Interdimensional Gravitational Zone 微博in跨次元引力场
Chaoyang Park, Nongzhanguan Beilu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区农展馆北路朝阳公园
Hours: 10am-10pm

READ: Jellycat Café Pop-Up Comes to China World Mall. Is It Worth It?

Images: Jesse Young