Kedu town attracts crowds of visitors this summer

Kedu town in Pingtang county, Southwest China's Guizhou province has attracted a growing number of tourists this summer due to being home to the planetarium of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST).

At the Pingtang International Experience Planetarium, abundant astronomy information catches the eyes of visitors, spanning ancient astrology, the FAST project, and the solar system.

The most attractive destination is the dynamic dome theater, where visitors can experience the feeling of flying when watching a movie. After that, they can climb up to a platform to view FAST. 

The number of people visiting the town is increasing, including some seniors, who are willing to climb the 789 steps to have a look at the world's largest radio telescope, said a tour guide surnamed Wu. 

Kedu was once a desolate place, but now it has been crowned as the "World's Astronomy Town" and an important place for international astronomy symposiums. In 2018 alone, more than 800,000 tourists swarmed to Kedu, according to a staff member at the planetarium. 

"Many of my classmates and I have a deep interest in universe exploration and our horizon has been broaden greatly in the planetarium," said a middle-school student in Pingtang, disclosing that her school had opened many astronomical courses after the operation of FAST. 

A statue of China's ancient poet Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), who explored natural science in ancient China, stands at the Pingtang International Experience Planetarium, Kedu town, Pingtang county, Southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo/gywb.cn]