What is time? Can we travel into the future? Or, can we travel back to the past?

On December 29, 2024, the third popular science film "Exploring Nature: The Shape of Time", created by the famous popular science writer and director Wang Jie, premiered in Minhang District, Shanghai.

Poster for "Mysterious Nature: The Shape of Time"

The audio partner of "Black Myth: Wukong", the "8082 Audio" team, created music and sound effects of international standards for the film.

A person leaves the station on a train that reaches the speed of light and moves forward. At this moment, the lights on the train are turned on. If you take a picture of this moment in the carriage and on the platform, will the scene seen by the people in the carriage and on the platform be the same?

Simply put, each reference frame has its own special time. "A day in heaven is a thousand years on earth."

Based on a fictional murder case on the aforementioned super-high-speed train, "Mysterious Nature: The Shape of Time" is a film that integrates the basic concepts of special relativity into a gripping mystery story and deeply integrates film techniques with popular science documentaries. The film is adapted from Wang Jie's best-selling book of the same name.

At the premiere, the new book "Comic Relativity" was released simultaneously.

Comic Book Relativity

Ding Hong, deputy director of the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in a video speech that this film, which combines scientific spirit and artistic creativity, is a "physics demonstration class" that cost tens of millions of yuan to create, and leads the audience into the palace of science in the flow of light and shadow. "I believe that such a viewing experience will truly make science approachable, tangible, and learnable . Let us work together to make popular science education no longer just "filling the knowledge gap", but become a spark of civilization and rationality ." "Today's premiere is just the beginning. I hope that this film can be shown in more cities in future tours."

In his speech, Ni Minjing, director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, said that this movie allows everyone to give full play to their imagination and feel the connection between time and space .

Science writer and director Wang Jie

Wang Jie said that bringing science to the screen can have a far-reaching impact - not only in the dissemination of scientific knowledge, but also in the improvement of public scientific literacy. He compared big-screen science films to the "Mount Everest" in the field of popular science, and dreamed of creating high-quality science documentaries that could rival those of the BBC or the National Geographic Channel.

The aforementioned premiere ceremony was jointly organized by the Minhang District Press, Publishing and Film Management Office and Shanghai Education Publishing House under the guidance of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Minhang District Committee and Shanghai Century Publishing Group.

As a joint publisher of books and films, Shanghai Education Publishing House hopes to use a variety of cultural styles to allow primary and secondary school students growing up in the era of artificial intelligence to better enter the world of science and explore science. "In the future, we will explore more ways of integration, show the value of cultural products through multiple channels and diversification, and promote the innovative development of traditional publishing." said a relevant person in charge of Shanghai Education Publishing House.

Guests attending the event included Director Ni Minjing of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Vice President Liu Haiying of Shanghai Century Publishing Group, Deputy Director Zhao Zheng of the Publicity Department of the CPC Minhang District Committee, Director Liu Yina of the Film Department of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Director Zeng Yuan of the Printing and Distribution Department of the Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department, Deputy Director Yang Lin of the Science Popularization and Technology Communication Department of the Municipal Science and Technology Commission, as well as Deputy Secretary Dong Longkai, Deputy Editor-in-Chief He Yong, and Deputy President Zhuang Xiaoming of Shanghai Education Publishing House.