A light and shadow virtual cinema has recently opened at the National Digital Film Industrial Park in Wuxi City, east China's Jiangsu Province.
The large venue introduces concentrated screenings of virtual reality films, allowing moviegoers to move beyond simply watching movies to actively experiencing them.
The cinema is divided into a seated zone and a walking zone, with viewers able to select films from an electronic menu.
"I watched 'Xuanzang and Kucha'. Unlike a traditional screen, VR makes you feel inside the scene, immersed in all directions," said Wang Lei, a moviegoer.
"We are showing 'Ghost Blows Out the Light: The Jinjue Ancient City'. It feels like we're raiding tombs while making adventures, recreating the film's original atmosphere. It's a move from simply watching films to playing with them," said Wang Xu, a business manager.
VR films typically run 30 to 45 minutes, during which moviegoers can sit and walk through larger spaces, or even team up with friends for stronger interaction.
This model featuring film plus interaction and film plus gaming introduces a new way of experiencing cinema.
The VR cinema is scheduled to open to the public from June 1 to 30.
VR cinema opens in Wuxi
China has recorded ten consecutive quarters of growth in imports and exports with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the data for the second quarter of this year from the General Administration of Customs GAC) showed on Tuesday.
China's trade with ASEAN reached 4.34 trillion yuan (about 640 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2026, marking an 18.2-percent increase compared to the same period of last year, according to GAC.
"In the first half of this year, China's imports and exports with ASEAN stood at 4.34 trillion yuan, up 18.2 percent year on year on. Of this total, imports and exports in the second quarter accounted for 2.37 trillion yuan which represented a year-on-year growth of 20.2 percent and marking the 10th consecutive quarter of growth.," said Lyu Daliang, a spokesman for the customs bureau, at a press briefing.
"China and ASEAN have continuously strengthened infrastructure connectivity. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with ASEAN via the new western land-sea corridor grew by 18.2 percent, with railway and highway transport increasing by 24.7 percent and 17.5 percent, respectively," Lyu said.
Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste.
China records ten consecutive quarters of trade growth with ASEAN
