Popular racing film spurs visits to shooting location in east China's Ningbo city

Movie fans stepped into the shooting locations of racing-comedy film "Pegasus 3" to explore the industrial site that served as the racetrack in the film during a public open day event on Saturday in Ningbo City, east China's Zhejiang Province.

"Pegasus 3" is the third installment in Director Han Han's racing-comedy franchise starring Shen Teng, one of China's most bankable comedic actors. As of Monday, it has surpassed a box office of over 41 billion yuan (around 596 million U.S. dollars), according to ticketing tracker Maoyan.

A refining plant belonging to Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company, a key filming location for "Pegasus 3," saw its unique industrial landscape transformed into a futuristic cyberpunk-style racetrack in the film.

On the open day event at the plant, many fans located the starting point of the "Muchen 100 Rally" qualifying track from the movie while gathering near the entrance. Refining towers, pipe corridors and lighting perfectly matched the shots seen in the film.

"I'm so happy to visit the plant after seeing 'Pegasus 3.' Seeing these buildings and lights in person makes me feel very proud," said Zheng Sijun, a movie fan.

Many industrial facilities, roads and embankment greenways in the plant area appeared in the film's racetrack scenes. These real industrial settings became a vital part of the movie's visual effects.

Fans also entered the central control room of the refinery to get a close-up look at operations.

"When watching the movie, we only saw a general view of the plant on screen. But coming to the site, you realize this is a truly huge, vast and awe-inspiring industrial complex," said Wang Ziyi, another movie fan.

The event's success indicates that the public's passion for film can be translated into educational initiatives, boosting awareness of China's advancements in productive forces among everyday people in the country.

Popular racing film spurs visits to shooting location in east China's Ningbo city

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that the main objective of U.S. "aggression" against Iran is to dominate the country's resources, and said that Iran will spare no effort in defending its national sovereignty.

He made the remarks at a weekly press conference in the Iranian capital Tehran while elaborating on the goals pursued by the United States in the joint strikes it has waged along with Israel against Iran since late last month.

"Does anybody have any doubt about the U.S. goal of seeking to dominate other countries' resources? We heard (U.S. Senator Lindsey) Graham proudly saying that if the U.S. can seize oil from Iran and Venezuela, they would control 31 percent of the world's oil resources," the spokesman said.

Baghaei condemned U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iranian medical facilities and civilian infrastructure, saying that, regardless of the excuses used by the U.S. and Israel, their targets are the Iranian people, and they aim to destroy Iran. The Iranian people will never allow the enemies to succeed, he said.

"Regarding the attack on the school in Minab (southern Iran), the U.S. initially said that it would conduct an investigation. However on Sunday, the U.S. falsely attributed the incident to 'Iran.' This is shameful. Such shamelessness and criminal behavior by the U.S. is nauseating. Iran is doing everything possible to resist, defend its dignity and honor, and protect the Iranian people from the most despicable actions," he said.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the U.S. launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, some of the leader's family members, high-ranking military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East.

Iran says US "aggression" aimed at dominating resources