China's Spring Festival box office revenue exceeds 5.5 bln yuan

The total box office for China's 2025 Spring Festival holiday, including pre-sales, had surpassed 5.5 billion yuan (about 765.3 million U.S. dollars) as of 14:19 Saturday, according to data from a film data platform.

Leading the box office chart are three domestic films. "Nezha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea," the highly anticipated follow-up to the 2019 animated blockbuster, currently holds the top spot. It is followed by the comedy-mystery "Detective Chinatown 1900," the fourth installment of the detective franchise. The epic mythological blockbuster "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force" ranks third on the chart.

Chinese people are enjoying an eight-day Spring Festival holiday running from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4. As China's most significant traditional festival, the annual holiday also heralds a lucrative movie season as watching films has become an increasingly prominent pastime for Chinese people during this period.

Six domestic films hit China's cinema screens on Wednesday, the first day of the 2025 Chinese New Year, spanning a variety of genres including comedy, action, martial arts, science fiction and animation, catering to a wide spectrum of audiences.

China's Spring Festival box office revenue exceeds 5.5 bln yuan

China's Spring Festival box office revenue exceeds 5.5 bln yuan

China's Spring Festival box office revenue exceeds 5.5 bln yuan

China's Spring Festival box office revenue exceeds 5.5 bln yuan

The three astronauts of the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission have boarded the spacecraft for a flight to China’s Tiangong space station.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to blast off at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT) from northwest China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The three Chinese astronauts, commander Zhu Yangzhu, spacecraft pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, climbed aboard the spaceship with the help of technicians.

Following the launch, the astronauts will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-21 crew, and one of them will conduct a one-year in-orbit stay, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

Notably, astronaut Lai Ka-ying is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program, and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

Shenzhou-23 astronauts board spaceship ahead of launch

Shenzhou-23 astronauts board spaceship ahead of launch

Shenzhou-23 astronauts board spaceship ahead of launch