China has launched a film-driven tourism campaign to boost holiday consumption during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival break, running from October 1 to 8, with service providers across the country rolling out themed activities, discounts, and cross-industry promotions.
This includes a national campaign titled "Travel Following Movies," which, alongside the Film Consumption Year initiative, encourages tourists to visit cities featured in films, promoting deeper integration between the film and tourism industries.
In Anshan City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Qianshan National Park has set up an open-air film screening project that allows visitors to enjoy movies and performances for free.
As part of the regional campaign "Travel in Anshan Following Movies," the project also includes a specialties fair and snack vendors. So far, the open-air cinema has drawn more than 50,000 moviegoers.
Meanwhile, the China Film Administration, together with other departments, hosted a conference to promote film-themed scenic routes across several provincial-level regions, including Fujian, Jiangxi, and Henan, as well as iconic sites like the Oriental Movie Metropolis in Qingdao and Hengdian World Studios.
These locations serve as filming or storytelling backdrops for new holiday releases such as "The Volunteers: Peace at Last", "A Writer's Odyssey 2", and "Sound of Silence".
Additionally, regions such as Beijing, Zhejiang, and Henan are offering discounts at scenic spots and hotels for travelers who present select film tickets. In north China, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has introduced mutual ticket recognition across cinemas, scenic areas, theaters, and football stadiums, creating a seamless experience for culture and sports lovers alike.
China launches film-driven tourism campaign to boost holiday consumption
The winners of the 2026 World Laureates Foundation Prize (WLF Prize) were announced in Shanghai on Thursday, with a total of 11 scientists honored, the most in the award's history, following the introduction of a new prize category.
Established in 2021, the WLA Prize is an international science award recognizing exceptional individuals in the fields of computer science, mathematics, life science or medicine.
Ingrid Daubechies of Duke University won the 2026 WLF Prize in Computer Science or Mathematics for her major contributions to applied harmonic analysis, wavelet theory and image compression, as well as her leadership in the international mathematics community.
Yuan Junying of the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Wang Xiaodong and Shao Feng of the National Institute of Biological Sciences, and Vishva Dixit at Genentech Inc. won the 2026 WLF Prize in Life Science or Medicine.
They shared the award for elucidating the molecular pathways of distinct forms of programmed cell death and analyzing how those pathways govern diverse physiological functions and disease pathogenesis.
Shao was the first Chinese national to win the award.
The prize introduced a new category this year. Six young scientists under 40 won the WLF Prize for Young Scientists.
The winners are: Raphaele Juliette Clement from the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research for advances in solid-state systems for electrochemical energy storage and conversion; Chen Peining from Fudan University for contributions to flexible electronic materials and devices; Ding Shiqian from Tsinghua University for experimental achievements in nuclear quantum precision measurement; Wu Jiajun from Stanford University for work on embodied AI and world models; Xie Weidi from Shanghai Jiao Tong University for AI applications in rare disease diagnosis and treatment; and Zhuang Ziquan from Johns Hopkins University for fundamental contributions to K-stability and birational geometry.
While spotlighting frontier breakthroughs in basic science, this year's prize selection also actively focused on the development of disruptive technologies and the application of innovative achievements.
"The WLF Prize also encourages important contributions to theories. Many applications we see today may stem from mathematics developed decades or even a century ago. So there should be greater investments in this area, which will provide more important safeguards for the development of our large models in industrial applications, safety, and other aspects," said Hua Xiansheng, executive dean of the Institute of Engineering Intelligence, Tongji University.
The 2026 prize was organized by the WLF, with exclusive prize funding from Hongshan and support from the Shanghai Lingang Science and Technology Innovation and Development Foundation.
The formal award presentation will take place during the World Laureates Forum scheduled for Oct 30 to Nov 1 in Shanghai.
China unveils winners of prize for global scientists
