Commercial films were screened and free movie events held in the summer holiday across China, offering moviegoers plenty of choices while making great films more accessible to the public.
At a cinema in Xi'an City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, diverse types of films attracted many viewers.
"It's the summer holiday, so I brought my child here," said a moviegoer surnamed Ma.
"Throughout August, comedies, mysteries, kid-targeted productions as well as cartoons which are popular among children, and science fictions all hit the screen, proving rich varieties and numbers for the summer season," said Hui Chaojie, general manager of a cinema.
The film authorities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north China organized a film screening event in August to show to the public eight free movies recently released and award-winning films produced in the Inner Mongolia in recent years. In Shenyang City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, free film screenings were held in bustling streets and parks. "This month, we will show patriotic movies to the public at 14 fixed points in the city, and also hand out free bottled water and cultural and creative gifts," said Huang He, staff member of Shenyang Film Company Limited.
Commercial films, free movie events enrich people's summer holiday in China
Consumption continued to heat up during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday from Friday to Sunday, as China's consumer goods trade-in programs have gained traction, and its diversified cultural offerings have stimulated new spending needs. At a car dealership in Wuhan City of central China's Hubei Province, consumers are keen to test drive a new energy vehicle with outstanding battery life as the province has beefed up its support for electric car purchase.
"The maximum subsidy for replacing a used car is 44,000 yuan (about 6,000 U.S. dollars), which is quite attractive to me," said a consumer surnamed Wan. In Shanghai, the Bingang shopping mall started trial operation during the holiday and provides citizens and tourists with a wide range of entertainment experiences by empowering more than a dozen performing arts and entertainment spaces of different sizes with high technology.
"We have introduced more than 20 different types of pan-entertainment experiences. We hope to create a destination for cultural entertainment-induced consumption by gathering different types of entertainment," said Wu Jiuying, marketing manager of the Shanghai Bingang shopping mall.
The Qingming Festival holiday has also given a boost to the domestic box office, with dozens of films released.
As of 21:00 on Sunday, China's total box office revenue for the three-day holiday had surpassed 377 million yuan (approximately 51.5 million U.S. dollars), according to data from online platforms.
The U.S. produced film "A Minecraft Movie", Chinese crime thriller "We Girls", animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2", crime drama "Mumu" and police action movie "Fox Hunt" are currently ranked as the top five.
April 4 marked this year's Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival for people to pay tribute to the deceased and to worship their ancestors. Increasing numbers of people nowadays also use the holiday as an occasion to make spring outing and enjoy leisure entertainment.
China sees strong spike in Qingming Festival spending
