Chinese director Zhang Yimou addresses a news conference to promote his movie "A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop" at the 60th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 14, 2010. [Xinhua File Photo]

As a CPPCC member, the renowned director Zhang Yimou proposed with five other film directors that more cinemas should be built in small and medium sized cities in China.

The 2010 China annual plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are held from March 3 to March 14. As a CPPCC member, the renowned Chinese Director Zhang Yimou, who directed the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, proposed with five other film directors that more cinemas should be built in small and medium sized cities in China. They say the current figure of 5000 screens across China is not sufficient to meet increasing demand. Among the other five CPPCC members at the joint submission, Zhang Huijun is the president of Beijing Film Academy, and the other four are all famous Chinese film directors.

Chinese box office sales saw an explosive growth in 2009 hitting 6.2 billion yuan, representing a growth of 42% year on year. The overall income from the film sector tops 10 billion yuan. It is in the light of these figures that the 6 CPPCC members believe the number of 5000 cinemas in China fails to meet people's demand to watch films. Moreover, local governments should consider more seriously the opening of new cinemas, especially within small and medium cities.

Zhang Yimou says cinema construction is not part of current city planning for small and medium size cities, especially for those with larger populations and therefore a high demand for movies. Director Feng Xiaogang said a greater importance should be placed on the construction of new cinemas in central and western Chinese cities, and new policies should be established to draw international investment to the development of local cinemas. Zhang Huijun said an investigation should be made with a view to finding a solution.