When Chinese scientists become the new stars

Giant posters featuring distinguished Chinese scientists such as Qian Xuesen, Deng Jiaxian and Yuan Longping have recently appeared on large screens in commercial districts in many Chinese cities, attracting attention on overseas social platforms. Many foreign netizens believe that displaying scientists on giant public screens highlights the respect Chinese people have for scientists and those who contribute to society, and helps shape children's scientific aspirations. China's emphasis on rationality and science has also prompted them to reflect deeply: what kind of values does a society need for its own development?

Putting scientists on center stage has deep roots in China's cultural tradition. From the May Fourth Movement, when the banner of "Mr. Science" was raised to challenge ignorance and save the nation to the nationwide call in the 1950s to "march toward science" and build the country, and later to the recognition that "science and technology are the primary productive forces, talent is the primary resource, and innovation is the primary driver of growth" as well as the emphasis on education, science and technology, and talent as fundamental and strategic pillars for building a modern socialist country in all respects - generation after generation of Chinese people have pursued progress with a deep respect for science. Respect for science and talent has long been embedded in China's modern values. From long lines outside science museums to major scientific breakthroughs repeatedly making headlines on social media, science continues to command strong public interest in China.

Social survey data further illustrate this collective respect. According to the 13th sample survey of scientific literacy of Chinese citizens conducted by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), 89 percent of Chinese respondents agreed that modern science and technology will provide more development opportunities for our descendants, while 89.2 percent agreed that public understanding of and support for scientific and technological innovation is the foundation for building China into a leading country in science and technology. As a result, scientists have consistently ranked among the groups that are most respected, trusted and highly regarded by the Chinese public, and have long been among the careers most admired by young people. In this sense, putting scientists on giant screens is a natural expression of public sentiment, rather than a deliberate image project.

China holds the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, the highest national honor of its kind, and the conferral of the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award is often held at a very high level and attracts a great deal of attention.  Beyond this, National Science and Technology Workers' Day, celebrated every May 30, has been written into the Law of the People's Republic of China on Science and Technological Progress, making it a statutory holiday dedicated to science and technology workers. The distribution policies oriented toward increasing the value of knowledge have enabled truly accomplished and productive researchers to gain both fame and wealth. Years of steadily increasing R&D investment, together with the construction of major high-level scientific facilities, have also created opportunities for scientists in China to pursue their dreams and build their careers.

China's social culture of respecting scientists is also rapidly turning the country into a "magnet" for global talent. In 2021, Japanese scientist Akira Fujishima, known as the "father of photocatalysis," joined the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology on a full-time basis with his research team. Since 2024, three Nobel laureates - Barry Marshall, Hartmut Michel and Omar Yaghi - have successively joined China's institutions full-time to begin new research careers. "Conducting scientific research in China" is becoming a new trend in the global scientific community.

According to media reports, in 2024 and 2025 alone, dozens of distinguished foreign scientists who had previously worked in the US moved to Chinese research institutions full-time. They include both accomplished academic giants and promising young and mid-career scholars, as well as world-class experts in basic research and leading figures in engineering, technology and industrial innovation. What increasingly attracts overseas scientific and technological talent to China is precisely its favorable ecosystem that respects knowledge, encourages innovation and enables talent to thrive. Where talent flows is the most authentic vote on a country's innovation environment. As global intellectual resources increasingly converge on China, the landscape of scientific and technological innovation is also being quietly reshaped.

How has China achieved its remarkable rise in science and technology? What the giant screens placing scientists in the center reveal is how a nation's collective respect for science can be transformed into powerful momentum for innovation. In the digital age, "attention" has become an exceptionally valuable social resource. Chinese cities are willing to devote expensive advertising space to scientists who are most worthy of admiration, while ordinary people spontaneously offer them flowers and applause.

This respect for knowledge and creators is deeply rooted in the Chinese civilization's traditions of respecting teachers, valuing education, honoring wisdom and cherishing learning, and it continues to shape the vibrant development of China's science and technology sector today. Respect for science is evolving from a domestic social ethos in China into a window through which the world can observe and understand the country. China's values and development path are consequently winning growing respect and emulation around the world. Through these giant screens, the world is also coming to understand more about China.