Golden Panda Awards boosts film-tourism integration

The 2nd Golden Panda Awards, an international cultural award for humanistic exchanges and encouraging dialogs through film and television productions with the giant panda as a cultural symbol, is scheduled for Saturday in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Launched in 2023, the biannual event is to promote the screening of outstanding films and boosting tourism consumption across the province.

With the 2nd Golden Panda Awards, Sichuan has started screening films featuring selected Chinese and international classic films alongside cultural and tourism initiatives, offering people a diverse "film-watching plus" consumption experience.

The organizer has selected 40 films, including entries for the Golden Panda Awards, outstanding local Sichuan productions, and Chinese and foreign classics, and will screen them across 15 cinemas in Chengdu, Mianyang, Yibin, and other cities in Sichuan.

"For film fans, this is a very meaningful event which allows us to watch our favorite movies in cinemas. We hope the Golden Panda Awards continue to improve," said Cen Xinrui, a member of the audience.

"In fact, the Golden Panda Awards is beyond a film festival or an award ceremony, it also aims to improve people's film-watching and appreciation experience, building a bridge with Chinese audiences through lights and images," said Su Qing, an official of the screening event.

This year's Golden Panda Awards will also introduce a new model that integrates film with culture and tourism, releasing 14 travel routes and activities like tasting local delicacies, along with distributing 40 million yuan (about 5.6 million U.S. dollars) in movie consumption vouchers to boost cultural and tourism spending.

"We wish to take the Golden Panda Awards as an opportunity to create a consumption ecosystem centered on film that connects cultural and tourism resources. So far, it has benefited 130,000 cinema visits and generated over 5 million yuan (about 702,000 U.S.dollars) in box office revenue," said Yang Chunyan, director of the screening event.

In two years, the Golden Panda Awards have quickly gained international recognition as an event fostering global dialog and exchange in film and culture.

China on Friday sent a sea-launched rocket from the waters near the eastern province of Shandong, placing a group of satellites into planned orbit.

The commercial rocket, CERES-1 Y7, blasted off at 04:10 (Beijing Time), carrying the satellites belonging to the Tianqi constellation. The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center conducted this offshore mission.