China's film market showed great resilience during the week-long National Day holiday that ended on Monday.
China recorded 2.1 billion yuan (about 297 million U.S. dollars) in box office takings for the busy holiday season, the China Film Administration said Tuesday.
A total of 52.09 million movie tickets were sold during the holiday. Domestic films raked in 2.02 billion yuan (285 million U.S. dollars) at the box office, accounting for 95.87 percent of the total, the administration said.
Domestic production "The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death" led the charts with a box office revenue of 805 million yuan (about 113.95 million U.S. dollars) during the holiday season.
Directed by Chen Kaige, the film is the second installment in his "The Volunteers" trilogy.
"This film is quite impressive, with particularly grand scenes that are very moving," said Li Xiaomei, a resident.
During the holiday, the lineup is strong, diverse in genre and rich in themes, capable of meeting the varied demands of the broad audience.
On the first day of the holiday, cinemas across the country experienced a noticeable peak in attendance figures.
Jackie Chan's action-comedy "Panda Plan", which combines elements of various genres, also performed very well at the box office. The blend of action, comedy, and family elements in this film has attracted many audience members.
In addition, the movie's producer collaborated with the cultural tourism sector of southwest China's Sichuan Province in launching the themed event of Traveling around Sichuan with 'Panda Plan'.
Relying on its pleasant climate and beautiful natural environment, the shooting location at the Fairy Mountain National Forest Park in Wulong District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, has also become a popular tourist destination for many tourists.
"I had heard a long time ago that the scenery of Fairy Mountain is very beautiful. At the same time, this is also the shooting location for 'Panda Plan'. When I arrived here, it seemed that I had stepped into a movie. The scenery here is truly beautiful," said Wang Man, a visitor.
The average ticket price is around 41 yuan (about 5.8 U.S. dollars) during the holiday, the lowest in nearly four years.
The National Day holiday is traditionally one of China's most lucrative moviegoing periods.
China's film market shows great resilience during 2024 National Day holiday
A Chinese envoy reiterated the necessity on Wednesday for external armed forces and mercenaries to withdraw from Libya as soon as possible.
"The peaceful reconstruction of Libya is now at a critical stage, and to promote political transition is an important cornerstone to ensure its long-term peace and stability. China calls on all parties to continue to adhere to the general direction of a political settlement, strengthen dialog and consultation, and garner more consensus for the early resumption of political negotiations and establishing unified state institutions," said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, at the Security Council briefing on the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
Dai called on the international community to continue to support efforts to seek African solutions to African problems and promote a political settlement to the Libyan issue. "We call for the respect for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Libya, and reiterate our urge that external armed forces and mercenaries be withdrawn from Libya as soon as possible in a smooth and orderly manner," he said.
He also called for easing antagonism and confrontation, and maintaining security and stability; and focusing on humanitarian challenges and improving people's livelihood in Libya.
Noting that Libya has experienced a long period of civil war and conflict with a seriously divided security structure, and some of the recent unilateral actions have worsened the fragile security situation, the ambassador called on all Libyan parties to put the interest of the country and the people first, remain rational and restraint, continue to strictly comply with the ceasefire agreement, implement the consensus of the 5+5 joint military commission, and work together to safeguard the hard-won detente.
Dai urged the international community to continue to provide support to Libya in strengthening counter-terrorism efforts and maintaining border security, and to scale up humanitarian assistance and provide more constructive support for its development and rebuilding.
He said China supports Libya to utilize its oil resources well and use oil revenues to improve people's well-beings, and called on the Security Council to pay effective attention to the concerns of the Libyan authorities regarding frozen assets abroad and work out a solution as soon as possible to protect Libyan people from losing their wealth.
China supports UNSMIL to play its due role in mediating the Libyan issue and make greater effort to advance political transition and achieve lasting peace in Libya, Dai said.
Chinese envoy urges external armed forces to withdraw from Libya
