Lots of technical vocabulary (telescope names, orbital mechanics, string theory, the quantum world…). Regardless of what you hear online, far from a wise choice as your first Chinese novel to read.

Also worth noting that the story is quite slow-paced. The book won the Hugo Award, so the plot is certainly nothing to scoff at, but the writing style might not be up everyone’s alley. I remember reading a comment along the lines of ‘this is where the real novel starts’… about 2/3 of the way in.

Sources