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Oriental Science Fiction Valley, the first theme park in the world to use VR on all of its attractions, opened over Labour Day weekend this year. Located in Guizhou, China, the theme park features 35 rides including spaceship tours, virtual roller coasters and shooter games. There are no traditional rides or roller coasters in the park, but it is decorated with giant robots and sci-fi-inspired structures. The park aims to combine technology and traditional physical facilities to deliver a new experience to customers.

There’s so much to say about this example! And while many readers might dismiss a VR theme park as quirky or ridiculous, the VR market in China is forecast to reach USD 8.4 billion by 2020. Innovations like Oriental Science Fiction Valley give a glimpse of what that looks like in the real world (irony intended!). It’s also a powerful reminder that once again, China is leading the way when it comes to consumer adoption of new technology. From WeChat’s mini programs to Alibaba’s retail management app Ling Shou Tong (used by local mom-and-pop stores to obtain goods) – if you want to know what the future holds, you simply have to look to China!

More than that, this innovation offers you another insight. Yes, the Chinese VR market is booming. But the market looks very different to the rest of the personal consumer electronics industry. Instead, the country now hosts thousands of VR cafes. Partly this is down to local cultural quirks – such as parental objection to playing games at home or the smaller average size of houses (than in say, the US); while it’s partly because of the nature of the devices themselves – headsets are expensive and most people don’t spend hours using them regularly.

So beyond the VR market, there’s a bigger question for you to consider: when you’re looking at new technologies, should you also be looking at entirely new business models, too?

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