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The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), known in China as the “Sky Eye” and located in Guizhou Province, is turning into a major public attraction. According to a report by the Xinhua news agency, the world’s largest radio telescope is seeing a surge in visitors – a sign of the growing public interest in China’s astronomical and space ambitions.
FAST, which became operational in 2016 and has been fully available to scientists since 2020, is used to study pulsars, fast radio bursts and to hunt for potential extraterrestrial signals. The facility is part of China’s broader scientific program and is frequently associated with the country’s space missions, such as the Chang’e lunar program and the Tianwen planetary exploration missions.
The report describes how visitors gather on the observation platform above the giant dish reflector to admire the installation from above. The local tourism industry has adapted to the influx, offering guided tours, exhibitions and educational experiences centered on astronomy and spaceflight that combine the science with regional culture.
For Chinese media, the wave of visitors is evidence of society’s enthusiasm for science and technology – groundwork that, according to official accounts, should also nurture the next generation of talent for China’s space program. The tourism boom around the telescope shows how deep-space research and regional economic development go hand in hand in China.