The director and leading actor of the co-produced movie "Red Silk" -- the latest result of China-Russia film collaboration -- shared experience in the creation of the movie, which was released in Chinese theaters over the weekend.
As a major project produced in honor of the China-Russia Years of Culture of 2024 and 2025, the film tells the story of Chinese and USSR comrades fighting shoulder to shoulder on a hidden battlefront and jointly defending justice.
It premiered in Russia in February this year and set a box office record for films of its genre.
Director Andrey Volgin first explained the title of the movie.
"From the very beginning, we were thinking about how to weave China into the title itself. For Russian audience, the word 'silk' instantly evokes China. The Red Silk is also tied to a small plot detail, one I can't reveal. You'll have to watch the movie yourself. If I give it away now, there'll be no suspense left," said Volgin.
Leading actor Milos Bikovic said the relations among the main characters are complicated.
"They are comrades. They help each other, but it's not that simple. But everybody has its own secrets and its own skeleton in the closet," said Bikovic.
Bikovic said that the sequel of the movie is scheduled to premiere in China after one year and a half.
"Our heroes will continue their adventures in China, facing fresh trials. They'll sail to Shanghai in 1931," said Volgin.
They then shared their impressions and understanding of Chinese films.
"I got recommended movie 'The Wandering Earth.' And I've seen it. And then I've seen the second part. There's 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' and Bruce Lee, Kung Fu movies, yeah. Because that was when I was a child, that's what I really liked. And later on, Wong Kar-wai," said Bikovic.
"To better shape the characters, we watched a huge number of Chinese films before shooting 'Red Silk.' I won't single out any director or title as my favorite. They were all extraordinary. You make remarkable films in every genre," said Volgin.
Director, leading actor on China-Russia co-produced film Red Silk
China will strive to further reduce the number of heavy pollution days and improve water quality in rural areas during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said on Thursday.
While meeting the press following the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), Huang outlined the main tasks of pollution control during the 2026-2030 period.
Although the national average proportion of heavy pollution days has dropped to less than one percent last year, said Huang, during autumn and winter seasons, such weather events still occasionally occur in certain regions, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surround areas, as well as urban clusters in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
Therefore, reducing the number of heavy pollution days will continue to be a major task for relevant authorities, he said.
"An important goal of pollution prevention and control during the 15th Five-Year Plan period is to continue reducing the number of heavy pollution days. We are quite confident in achieving this. We will adhere to the approaches of systematic and source-based management, addressing both symptoms and root causes, with a focus on the latter. In particular, we will seize the favorable opportunities brought by advancing the goal of peaking carbon emissions during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and the promulgation of the Ecological and Environmental Code today to promote green and low-carbon development of our industrial, energy, and transportation structures, as well as the development of new quality productive forces. Our fundamental solution is to reduce pollutant emissions at the source," he said.
Water quality improvement is another major task, according to Huang.
Over the years, China has seen significant progress in managing the water quality in major rivers and lakes, but in rural areas and urban-rural fringe areas, pollution problems, like black and odorous waters, remain quite prominent in small and micro water bodies, he said, adding that these pollution sources near people's homes may seem minor, they are actually directly related to the well-being of the people.
"This year, we will introduce relevant documents to deepen water pollution control, shifting our focus and efforts further towards rural areas, urban-rural fringe areas, and counties. At the same time, we'll set up over 200 national-level monitoring sites and a number of monitoring sites at the provincial level, in order to help local authorities to better manage small and micro water bodies," said Huang.
China will strive to further improve air, water quality in following five years: minister
