2025 marks the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema.
From Chinas first film Dingjun Mountain produced in 1905 to Ne Zha 2 topping the international ticket office for animated movies this year, Chinese movie theater has passed through a century, leaving behind countless treasures.
Today, lets revisit 10 groundbreaking firsts in Chinese film history.
Film made in China: Dingjun MountainIn autumn 1905, Ren Qingtai, the owner of the Fengtai Photo Studio, collaborated with Peking Opera master Tan Xinpei to shoot several scenes of the opera film Dingjun Mountain (Ding Jun Shan), which premiered at the Daguanlou Theater in the Dashilar historic location of Beijings Qianmen District on December 28, 1905.
Its creation represented the birth of Chinese cinema.A still from the opera movie Dingjun Mountain.
/ CGTNA still from the opera motion picture Dingjun Mountain.
/ CGTNA still from the opera film Dingjun Mountain.
/ CGTNLocation of the earliest movie screening in China: Youyicun Tea HouseOn August 11, 1896, a projector was used to evaluate some scattered shots that recorded peoples work and life at the Youyicun Tea House at the Xuyuan Garden in Shanghai, which drew in lots of locals to view and marked the first movie screening in China.
Xuyuan Garden hence ended up being the first private garden in the history of Chinese movie theater to screen films to the public.First location for screening Chinese movies: Daguanlou TheaterLocated in the Dashilar historic location of Beijings Qianmen location, the Daguanlou Theater was built 120 years back throughout the late Qing Dynasty.
In 1905, the Dahengxuan Tea House was relabelled the Daguanlou Theater and evaluated Chinas very first film –-- Dingjun Mountain.
Daguanlou later became a movie theater, supplying culture and entertainment to visitors from home and abroad.
First professional movie theater in China: Shanghai Hongkew CinemaIn 1908, Spanish business owner Antonio Ramos established the first specialized cinema in Shanghai –-- the Hongkew Cinema.
Consequently, a number of movie theaters emerged in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, laying the structure for a nationwide cinema market.
A file image of the Hongkew Cinema in Shanghai./ CGTNA file photo of the Hongkew Cinema in Shanghai./ CGTNChinas first long function film: Yan Ruisheng Yan Ruisheng is a 100-minute quiet black-and-white movie that was produced and screened in 1921.
Its release put an end to the Western monopoly on sound movies in the function film market at that time, marking a new era in the advancement of Chinese cinema.First sound movie in China: Sing-song Girl Red PeonyThe three-hour movie Sing-song Girl Red Peony was shot in 1930 and released in March 1931 and depicts the life and love story of a Peking Opera vocalist.
It is a crucial turning point in the history of Chinese film, as it introduced a wave of sound movie production in the country.Chinas first color film: A Wedding in the DreamThe Peking Opera film A Wedding in the Dream, also called Happiness Neither in Life nor in Death, Remorse at Death, or Sheng Si Hen in Chinese, was launched in the late 1940s.
The movie was directed by the distinguished Chinese filmmaker Fei Mu and starred the Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang.First feature-length film after the founding of the PRC: The BridgeThe 90-minute movie The Bridge was produced by the Northeast Film Studio and screened in 1949.
It tells the story of a group of factory employees who overcame many troubles to fix the Songhua River train bridge, ultimately contributing to the triumph of the Liberation War.First color function movie after the starting of the PRC: The New Years SacrificeProduced by the Beijing Film Studio in 1956, the 100-minute movie The New Years Sacrifice (Zhu Fu) was adapted from the book of the exact same name by Chinese literary master Lu Xun.
Through the terrible life experiences of Xianglins other half, it reflects the social contradictions in the wake of the 1911 Revolution.
The story is considered a driver for social change.First wide-screen color movie in China: The Adventure of a MagicianProduced by the Shanghai Tianma Film Studio in 1962, the 47-minute film The Adventure of a Magician was generally shot in Shanghai.
The movie provided Shanghai as it appeared at that time from the perspective of a magician returning from overseas, and taped information of the city through a wealth of real-life scenes.