Aiming for the stars

Some channels on Weibo and Zhihu explain astronomy discoveries such as gravitational waves, says Li Ran of the National Astronomical Observatories of China.

Top Chinese astronomers such as Li are also spreading awareness about the subject.

Li is also a popular blogger with more than 50,000 followers on Zhihu.

He says he chose astronomy as his major at university because he was inspired by US astronomer Carl Sagan and physicist Kip Thorne.

"My blogging on Zhihu is more like a summary of my research. I do not think about readers when I write, but I use simple words, so it may help other people," he says.

With the increasing popularity of astronomy in China, publishers are also jumping on the bandwagon.

In 2015, Li worked with two translators to translate Thorne's The Science of Interstellar, which won a book award in China. And, in May, he published his own book Roaming the Universe.

Recently the Chinese version of Sagan's Cosmos translated by Chen has been published in China.

Speaking about the book, Chen says: "Carl Sagan is a very popular name in the United States and he was very successful in popularizing the subject among common people. But few Chinese know about him. If this book helps them learn about him and the cosmos, it will be great."

Wu Yishan, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, a fan of Sagan, says that the book can be used as a textbook to teach young people.

"When you learn about the human position in the magnificent cosmos, you will have a very different view of our behavior on Earth," he says.