More people in China are taking tours to famous movie filming locations, ushering in a new form of movie-inspired tourism.
The picturesque Dapeng Peninsula in south China's Shenzhen City come into public view after several films took it as a shooting location, including The Mermaid, a movie directed by famous Chinese comedian Stephen Chow.
Four delicately designed movie-inspired travel routes rolled out by the local authorities have been attracting increasing tourists to immerse themselves in the film scenes.
"We worked with scenic spots, business districts and hotels to launch over 30 activities to promote consumption in culture, sports and tourism. These measures have boosted both popularity and consumption of Yantian's culture-tourism sector," said Zou Wan, an office worker at the Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Yantian District.
In Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang Province, an ancient town has also received growing tourists who are interested in the filming site of Gone with the Boat, a film that tells the story about a family living by the canal.
To handle the growing travel demand, the ancient town has launched special shuttle bus routes and holding special temple fairs.
This year, the town has seen an over 30-percent increase in tourist visits and an over 35-percent increase in tourism revenue.
"The reason why people love to spend more on experience of movie intellectual properties is that they love those movies and their cultural values. This type of consumption is more than simply buying goods. It has become a comprehensive consumption that enables customers to buy things and have immersive and spiritual experience at the same time," said Chen Tao, vice dean at the School of Literature of Renmin University of China.
Movie-inspired tours boom in China
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have reaffirmed that they will not seek normalization of ties with Israel, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's call for the two countries to join the Abraham Accords.
Saudi Arabia's position on the Palestinian issue remains unchanged, a Saudi source told Al Arabiya TV on Monday.
The source affirmed the need for "an irreversible pathway to a Palestinian state".
The remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Muslim-majority and regional countries to normalize relations with Israel and join the Abraham Accords before the U.S. reaches a peace agreement with Iran.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said it would not normalize relations with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that Pakistan will not join any agreement to normalize ties with Israel, adding that the country will not accept any deal that "conflicts with its fundamental ideologies".
Trump on Monday urged Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Pakistan -- countries involved in mediating U.S.-Iran talks -- to immediately join the Abraham Accords, warning that otherwise they should not participate in the mediation.
He added that if a U.S.-Iran deal is reached, Iran should also join the agreement.
The Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States in 2020 during Trump's first term, were established between the Israeli government and Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, aimed at rapidly advancing the normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries.
Before the outbreak of the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October 2023, the United States had been pushing for normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
After the conflict erupted, Saudi Arabia suspended normalization talks with Israel.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan reject Trump's Abraham Accords demand
