From Billboards to Subway Screens, China Puts Scientists in the Spotlight
From Billboards to Subway Screens, China Puts Scientists in the Spotlight
BEIJING, Sept. 11, 2026 — In several Chinese cities, some of the most prominent public advertising spaces are being transformed into platforms celebrating scientists, putting the faces and achievements of national scientific pioneers before millions of commuters and residents.
Instead of being dominated by commercial brands and entertainment celebrities, large digital screens, billboards, shopping centres and subway stations have recently featured prominent Chinese scientists including Qian Xuesen, Deng Jiaxian, Yuan Longping and Tu Youyou.
The displays highlight the scientists’ contributions to China’s development and present them as role models for perseverance, scientific exploration and service to society.
In Zhengzhou, Henan Province, for example, major subway stations have displayed portraits and achievements of six prominent figures, including Qian Xuesen, Deng Jiaxian, Yuan Longping and Tu Youyou. The campaign has been designed to make stories of scientific achievement part of commuters’ everyday lives.
The trend has also spread to other cities. In Chongqing, giant outdoor screens in prominent commercial areas have recently displayed images of scientists including Deng Jiaxian, Qian Xuesen and Huang Xuhua.
Local authorities and businesses have promoted the displays as a way of honouring the “backbones of the nation” and bringing the spirit of scientists into everyday public spaces.
Among the scientists being celebrated are Qian Xuesen, a leading figure in China’s rocket and space programme; Deng Jiaxian, a prominent nuclear physicist; and Yuan Longping, whose pioneering work on hybrid rice helped transform agricultural production.
Tu Youyou, meanwhile, is internationally recognized for her discovery of artemisinin, a breakthrough in the treatment of malaria.
The use of prime advertising locations for scientists has attracted considerable attention online, with observers describing the campaign as giving scientists the kind of visibility and public recognition normally associated with celebrities and entertainment stars. Reports have described the trend as spreading from Shandong to cities including Zhengzhou, Hangzhou and Chongqing.
The idea of presenting scientists as role models also connects with earlier evidence about children’s career aspirations in China. A 2019 LEGO-commissioned survey of 3,000 children aged 8–12 found that 56% of Chinese respondents chose astronaut as their preferred future profession, compared with children in the United States and United Kingdom, where YouTuber or vlogger was the most popular choice.
The latest public displays therefore offer more than a tribute to individual scientists. They reflect an effort to place science, education, perseverance and national contribution within the everyday visual culture of Chinese cities.
By putting scientists in the same highly visible spaces traditionally reserved for commercial advertising and celebrity culture, the campaign sends a simple message: scientific achievement and the pursuit of knowledge are worthy of public admiration.
For younger generations, the displays also provide accessible examples of people who devoted their careers to research, technological innovation, agriculture and medicine—encouraging students to see scientific achievement as a path toward contributing to society.
From hybrid rice and malaria treatment to space exploration and satellite navigation, China’s scientific achievements have increasingly become part of its public narrative, with scientists portrayed not merely as researchers but as figures whose work can inspire future generations.
The result is a striking change in the urban landscape: scientists are becoming the faces in the city’s most visible spaces, turning everyday commutes into opportunities to encounter stories of knowledge, discovery and national contribution.
