China's Space Propaganda Blitz Endures At Slick New Shanghai Planetarium

Scale-model replicas of spaceships from China's space missions figure prominently at the new Shanghai Planetarium.

China has opened the doors on what it bills as the world's largest planetarium, a slick new Shanghai facility showcasing the nation's recent extra-terrestrial exploits while notably downplaying those of space pioneers like the United States. Beijing has spent much of this year bombarding the public with news of the country's rising space prowess, part of a larger propaganda blitz highlighting Chinese achievements under the ruling Communists to mark the party's 100th anniversary. In recent months, China has landed a spacecraft on Mars, set loose a rover to explore it, and sent the first astronauts to a Chinese space station. Scale-model replicas of spaceships from these and other missions figure prominently at the new Shanghai Planetarium, along with paeons to China's rapid scientific advancement, and clips of President Xi Jinping addressing the nation's taikonauts.