Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive by plane in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, on Tuesday for a state visit, at the invitation of Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
A distinctive and warm ceremony has been prepared at the airport to welcome Xi.
This visit is Xi's second trip to Malaysia in 12 years, which marks an important milestone in promoting the upgrading of relations between China and Malaysia.
During his stay in Malaysia, Xi is scheduled to meet with King Sultan Ibrahim and hold talks with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Malaysia is the second leg of Xi's current five-day three-nation Southeast Asia tour, which began with a two-day state visit to Vietnam, and will also take him to Cambodia for a state visit.
Xi to arrive in Kuala Lumpur for state visit to Malaysia
The lead-up to China's May Day holiday has kicked off with a movie market boom as the box office for new releases and re-releases exceeded 100 million yuan (about 13.75 million U.S. dollars) by Wednesday, including pre-sales and limited previews. Positioned between the Spring Festival and the summer vacation movie season, the May Day holiday period from May 1 to 5 is a pivotal slot for China's film market. This year, the holiday lineups include a strong mix of domestic commercial genre films and reality-based stories, catering to a wide range of audience preferences.
According to the online statistics platform Maoyan, the top six films in the Chinese box office leading up to the May Day holiday as of Wednesday night were Dumpling Queen, Thunderbolts*, The Open Door, A Gilded Game, Princess Mononoke, and I Grass, I Love. Four of these are Chinese domestic movies.
Among all domestic new releases during the holiday period, two featured comedies have garnered high expectations. "I Grass, I Love" offers a hilarious road trip featuring a truck driver and his young companion, while "The Open Door" is a satire on the chaos of livestreaming and the influencer industry.
Suspense-action films, a traditional staple of the May Day movie market, are represented by "A Gilded Game," a thriller centered on a financial crime, as well as "Trapped," inspired by true events.
Among drama films, "The Dumpling Queen," based on the true story of an underprivileged woman's rise as an entrepreneur, has stood out since the pre-sale. Animated films for family and children include "Happy Heroes: Rebel Rescue" and "Octonauts: The Crisis of the Tsunami".
China’s May Day holiday box office surpasses 100 mln yuan in pre-sales, previews
