China launched a nationwide promotional campaign on Friday to invigorate the film and catering industries and boost integrated cultural consumption momentum ahead of the nine-day Spring Festival holiday.
Co-hosted by the China Film Administration and the Ministry of Commerce, the campaign, titled "Follow Films to Taste Delicacies," was officially inaugurated at a launch ceremony in Shaoxing City, east China's Zhejiang Province.
The event spotlighted six major Spring Festival film releases: the espionage thriller "Scare Out", the racing sequel "Pegasus 3", the epic martial arts film "Blades of the Guardians", the animated adventure "Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe", the family-friendly "Boonie Bears: Every Year with a Bear", and the fantasy adventure "Per Aspera Ad Astra".
Each film is paired with regional culinary specialties from across the country, encouraging audiences to explore local food cultures alongside their cinematic experiences.
Major financial institutions are backing the initiative with consumer incentives. The China Construction Bank and the China UnionPay unveiled a series of bundled promotions linking movie tickets with dining discounts.
Meanwhile, China State Railway Group and Air China announced in-transit promotional programs featuring Spring Festival film highlights and food recommendations on high-speed trains and flights, extending the campaign's reach beyond theaters.
Zhejiang Province is rolling out a one-month initiative involving over 500 merchants under the theme "Explore Zhejiang Through Movies and Local Goodies," enabling consumers to redeem dining and tourism discounts with movie ticket stubs.
Shaoxing City has launched an 18-day campaign titled "Blessings: Celebrating the New Year in Shaoxing's Ancient City," allocating 10 million yuan (about 1.44 million U.S. dollars) in film consumption vouchers and organizing themed markets featuring local delicacies and Song Dynasty-style (960-1279) fairs.
"Zhejiang will create more 'film plus' integrated consumption scenarios, and welcome more film enthusiasts and consumers to visit our province, particularly Shaoxing, to savor local delicacies and enjoy films," said Tang Yanjun, deputy director of the film division at the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Zhejiang Provincial Committee.
The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, lands on Feb 17 this year. It is the most cherished annual occasion for family reunions in China.
China launches film-themed pro-consumption campaign ahead of Spring Festival
South China's Guangdong Province is accelerating its transformation into an international medical tourism hub, positioning itself as a destination for patients worldwide seeking affordable, high-quality care.
The push follows a joint initiative announced in late March by nine Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, aimed at boosting spending by foreign tourists and enhancing exports of tourism services as part of broader efforts to expand the country's service sector.
Every day, some of the most complex surgeries are performed here. Li Zilun, deputy director of the division of vascular surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‑sen University, is among the doctors capable of carrying out these intricate procedures.
He recently completed surgery on a patient with an aortic aneurysm, a condition often described as a "time bomb" in the body’s main artery, increasingly common in aging societies around the globe. Li also specializes in highly difficult and pioneering procedures, including repairing leaks caused by failed grafts.
"This was a very challenging case. And then, we implanted the covered stent to eliminate the endoleak. Actually, the outcome was pretty good. The patient will be discharged today," said Li Zilun.
The ability to handle such complex cases -- combining international techniques with domestically produced devices -- is drawing patients from around the world to seek treatment. In addition, high safety standards and low costs are also major draws.
"Our government is encouraging innovation. So, lots of physicians -- including our vascular surgeons -- we are actively involved in the innovation that helps to increase the effectiveness and safety, and also bring down the cost," said Li.
This hospital is one of the first in Guangdong to be designated by the provincial health commission as a pilot site for building an international medical service hub.
The growing number of patients has pushed the hospital to explore new ways to transform every step -- from treatment to payment and everything in between -- into a seamless experience, reducing waiting times and delivering better care for patients.
"I think it's fast. When the patient come here for just about, I think, one week, you can solve the problem," said Xiao Haipeng, president of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
The hospital is also deepening its international cooperation with top-tier medical institutions, including those at Harvard University.
"Not just for China, for the whole globe, we are facing health care challenges -- emerging infectious disease and chronic, lung infectious diseases, and also the aging population, also the shortage of healthcare workforce," said Xiao.
In response to these challenges, China is promoting its own solutions, including aggressive innovation in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven workflows, while stepping up research and development investment and global engagement along the way.
"In recent years, the innovation in Western medicine is dramatically growing. An example of my hospital -- in the past few years, we have 140 innovations and seven of them are international leading innovations," said Xiao.
As global demand for medical tourism grows, China is positioning itself as a new destination. Official data shows that the number of foreign patients in Guangdong increased by 20 percent last year. Among them, the growth in inpatient admissions was even faster, rising by 76 percent.
Guangdong fast-tracks pilot for int'l medical service hub
