China inventor creates sword-shaped aerial vehicle, bringing flying sword in fantasy novels to life

‘Obsessed’ innovator uses drones and levers to operate flying machine; hopes to eventually have his prototype mass-produced

A Chinese influencer has turned the flying sword in Chinese xianxia fantasy novels into reality by creating a specially-shaped aerial vehicle.

Fan Shisan, from southwestern China’s Sichuan province, recently posted a video of himself riding a sword-shaped aerial vehicle, amassing 3.3 million views and 284,000 likes.

Dressed in black and striking a cool pose, Fan looks like a knight in China’s xianxia dramas.

Xianxia is a popular genre of Chinese fantasy developed from the wuxia, or martial chivalry genre, and inspired by Chinese mythology.

Unlike wuxia which is still largely bound by physics, xianxia has more supernatural elements such as deities and immortality.

One of the most influential Chinese xianxia works is the 2005 drama Chinese Paladin, which was adapted from a Taiwanese role-playing game, starring the now A-list stars Hu Ge and Liu Yifei.

Fan, who was born in the 1990s, said he was obsessed with such dramas, as well as classic wuxia dramas such as The Return of the Condor Heroes as a child.