The last book of the series came in 2007, and the film finale has fans sentimental.

"It represents a long, fantastic dream -- like never before, like never again," Duan said.

But even those who didn't grow up with the film are excited for the finale. "I can't wait to see the movie," said 10-year-old Jiang Yiyao, while holding her mother's hand, who reserved three tickets for the film's premiere in 3-D version. "It's so amazing that Harry Potter movies create this magical world right before your eyes."

Jiang has read all the books in Chinese, but she has ambitions to one day read them all in English.

Needless to say, tickets are hot. In Beijing's Ultimate Movie Experience (UME) cinema in Zhongguancun, a major college district, eager fans come early and wait in long lines to be among the first to get tickets. The premiere tickets for IMAX, priced at 140 yuan (21.7 U.S.dollars), sold out fast.

"All IMAX versions have been reserved since last Wednesday, and half of the 3D versions are already booked," said Xu Meng, UME's manager. "It's selling even faster than "'Transformers'."

Cinemas have also seized the opportunity to please their customers by decorating with typical magical objects from the movie, such as imitative deathly hallows, quill-pens and brooms.

The film's release has also boosted the sales of Harry Potter books, and those who couldn't get the whole series when they were children are now buying them up.

"I bought the hardcover boxed set, and that way I'll be able to read them whenever I miss Harry," said Lin Xiangchun, a 20-year-old student from Tsinghua University.

The Harry Potter collection is sold out on Amazon.cn. A seller from Taobao.com, China's largest online shopping website, told Xinhua he had sold 600 sets of Harry Potter novels in the past 30 days.