China Daily - 30.07.2019

LIFE

18 | Tuesday, July 30, 2019

CHINA DAILY | CHINADAILY.COM.CN/LIFE

S

mashing box-office records

in animation, the film Ne

Zha has proved to be a dark

horse, tipped to lift up the

Chinese film industry, which has

experienced a slowdown in the past

five months.

The film, which topped the main-

land’s ticket-revenue charts for four

consecutive days, has grossed more

than 800 million yuan ($116 million)

since it hit domestic theaters on Fri-

day, according to live box-office

tracker Maoyan.

Ne Zha’s takings totaled over 100

million yuan in the first day itself,

surpassing the threshold figure

faster than any other Chinese ani-

mated film.

The film has also broken two oth-

er box-office records.

By bringing in 138.5 million yuan

on its opening day, Ne Zha has over-

taken previous record-holder Despi-

cable Me 3 to top the country’s

opening-day charts for animated

films. It also earned 225 million

yuan on the second day, an increase

of 23.3 percent from the record set

by Disney’s Zootopia in terms of sin-

gle-day box-office rankings for all

animated films in China.

With word-of-mouth praise

online, Ne Zha has also seen a rise in

the number of screenings, a barom-

eter of popularity. By Monday, the

movie was set to be shown across 49

percent of China’s nearly 65,

screens — up from 33.5 percent on

its debut day.

As the first ever Chinese animat-

ed film to be released in the Imax

format, the film has also generated

approximately 54 million yuan

(including paid sneak preview

screenings) in its opening weekend,

setting a new Imax record for the

best opening weekend of all ani-

mated films released in China.

Loosely based on the Ming

Dynasty (1368-1644) novel Feng-

shen Yanyi (The Investiture of the

Gods), the film is about a mytholog-

ical figure who fights against unfair

destiny.

The 110-minute film, helmed by

1980s-born director Yang Yu, better

known as Jiaozi (“dumpling”),

offers a retelling of the household

tale that will strike a chord with a

modern Chinese audience.

In the novel, Ne Zha is a rebel-

lious teenager who kills whoever

gets in his way. His relationship

with his father, Li Jing, is tense. His

father, a cowardly and selfish com-

mander who governs the fictional

port of Chen Tang Guan, forces Ne

Zha to commit suicide over an

error. Ne Zha is reborn as a three-

headed, six-armed deity who rides

on two magical “wind-and-fire”

wheels to fight his enemies.

“I wanted to change the stereo-

typical telling of the original story.

This film is about an individual

who fights against prejudice and

social exclusion,” says Yang.

In the movie, Ne Zha is born with

a “cursed destiny”. He is unfairly

treated by local villagers who believe

that the naughty, yet good-hearted,

child will grow up to be a public

threat. Another deviation from the

original sees the father depicted as a

noble man who would sacrifice his

own life to rescue his son.

With rave reviews online, exem-

plified by 8.7 of 10 points on Dou-

ban, some industry analysts

estimate the film will overtake Zoo-

topia, the highest-grossing animat-

ed film of all-time in China.

Li Baochuan, an expert in anima-

tion at Hangzhou Normal University,

says Ne Zha shows the development

of animation techniques in China

and has reduced the gap with the

world’s best.

Cao Xiaohui, vice-president of

the animation institute at the Bei-

jing Film Academy, says the success

of Ne Zha shows that animated

films inspired by Chinese mytholo-

gy are a new trend.

“In the past few years, most

influential Chinese animated

films were inspired by our own

culture, such as Monkey King:

Hero is Back, Big Fish & Begonia

and White Snake. Chinese theater-

goers are more receptive to seeing

such familiar stories being

brought to life on the big screen,”

says Cao.

According to the distributors of

Ne Zha, the film will have English

subtitles for overseas markets.

Contact the writer

at [email protected]

Chinese animated film Ne Zha

has proved to be a big winner in

this summer’s box office.

PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

universities and offices in 12 coun-

tries, including Russia, Mexico and

Malaysia, and maintains ties with

Chinese companies investing in

those countries.

Liu Baoli, executive secretary-

general of the China-ASEAN Edu-

cation Cooperation Week, says the

alliance has adopted a system of

“joint selection, joint funding and

joint training” to create a new

model for studying abroad in Chi-

na.

As an initiator of the China-

ASEAN Education Cooperation

Week and an early member of the alli-

ance, Guizhou University has forged

relationships with universities in

Alliance opens doors for Mexican students in China

By YANG JUN

and ZHANG XIAOMIN in Guiyang

An education alliance is bringing

more students from countries and

regions involved in the Belt and

Road Initiative to study in China,

with almost 200 new places being

created this year for students from

Mexico alone.

Last year, 37 Mexican students

were jointly selected to join master’s

degree programs in China by the

Mexican government and the B&R

University-Enterprise Alliance for

Talent Development. This year, the

number jumped to 230, executive

secretary-general Zhou Yong said at

the 2019 China-ASEAN Education

Cooperation Week, which ran from

July 22 to 26 in Guian New Area,

Guizhou province.

“About 60 Chinese companies,

including Huawei and Didi, have set

up offices in Mexico. They are in

need of talent who can speak Chi-

nese. Our alliance coincides with

their development needs,” Zhou says.

Established in July 2017 by the

China Campus Network, the China-

ASEAN Education and Training

Alliance and several high-profile

Chinese enterprises, the alliance

aims to promote cooperation on tal-

ent training between domestic uni-

versities, governments involved in

the Belt and Road Initiative and Chi-

nese companies operating overseas.

Setting up talent training pro-

grams with member universities

and nine Mexican state govern-

ments, the alliance held joint exams

in July to select outstanding candi-

dates.

Of all the Latin American coun-

tries, Mexico has the most frequent

exchanges with China in education,

culture, sports and tourism. It

cooperates with China in over 10

fields, including e-commerce, tour-

ism management, engineering and

big data.

“Since our alliance helps bilateral

trade and investment, we won

strong support from the Mexican

government,” Zhou says.

The Mexican government covers

the first year’s tuition fee, accom-

modation expenses and basic living

expenses for students while the

other three years’ expenses are

shared by the universities and the

Mexican government. Industry

partners offer internships and

employment opportunities.

The alliance now has 28 member

ASEAN countries via the platform.

This year’s event saw members of

overseas government institutions,

domestic universities and Chinese

companies work together to devel-

op expertise and boost training and

employment.

Nine Mexican state governments

signed cooperation agreements

with universities of the China Cam-

pus Network, as did Huawei. Addi-

tionally, two CCN centers, located

in Russia and Uzbekistan, were offi-

cially launched at the event.

Zhou says the alliance will con-

tinue to promote “customized tal-

ent training models with

government participation and uni-

versity-enterprise cooperation” and

it hopes to establish programs with

Mongolia, Cambodia and several

other countries.

“We will continue to serve local

development, promote trade and

enhance the global reputation of

Chinese universities,” Zhou adds.

Zhao Yandi contributed to

this story.

Contact the writers through

zhangxiaomin@

chinadaily.com.cn

International students visit a research center of Huawei in Shang-

hai during their study in China. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Orchestra

committed

to deeper

music links

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania

— The Philadelphia Orchestra

expects to deepen its cooperation

with its Chinese partners, a senior

executive of the orchestra has said.

“It’s such a powerful experience to

be able to use music to connect peo-

ple from the United States and Chi-

na,” says Ryan Fleur, executive

director of The Philadelphia

Orchestra.

“The Philadelphia Orchestra is

highly committed to deepening the

relationship with China in the years

ahead.”

Founded in 1900, the orchestra is

renowned for a long and distin-

guished history of touring the

world, and its ties with China mark

a significant chapter in its century-

old history.

In 1973, at the invitation of Presi-

dent Richard Nixon, it became the

first US orchestra to visit the Peo-

ple’s Republic of China — a trip con-

sidered a key part of the US

rapprochement with China in the

1970s.

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s rela-

tionship with China predated the

official ties between the two coun-

tries, says the senior executive, add-

ing that his orchestra’s bond with

China has withstood the ups and

downs in bilateral relations on the

national level.

“The constant is that we’re still

making music and connecting with

people,” says Fleur, who has been to

China 13 times in the last seven

years in an effort to strengthen the

orchestra’s partnership with the

country.

“We’re thrilled to be a vehicle to

try to bring the world a little closer.”

Fleur says he believes in the pow-

er of music, noting that the beauty

of melodies “transcends language,

culture and boundaries”, which is

an important instrument for facili-

tating US-China cultural exchanges

and improving mutual under-

standing.

Through musical and cultural

exchanges, “we could find a lot in

common”, and that kind of people-

to-people connection “is particu-

larly important when we are from

two great countries that represent

such a large part of the world”, says

Fleur, who is also an experienced

pianist.

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s

interaction with its Chinese coun-

terparts has been flourishing since

its first historic visit to China 46

years ago.

The orchestra enjoys a long-

standing partnership with the

National Centre for the Performing

Arts in Beijing and the Shanghai

Oriental Art Center. In addition, it

has worked with the Shanghai Phil-

harmonic Orchestra since 2016 in

advancing cultural exchanges

between the US and China.

In May, it wrapped up its 12th tour

to China, which was also aimed at

marking the four-decade milestone

in US-China diplomatic relations.

Then, the orchestra held concerts in

Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou,

along with coaching sessions at Chi-

nese colleges from May 16-28.

“We try to connect every year ...

The full orchestra goes back every

year. And in between, we’ve devel-

oped many strategic partnerships in

Beijing, Shanghai and throughout

China with orchestras, performing

art groups and media companies, to

be able to use music to reach large

numbers of people and to further

grow relationships,” Fleur says.

XINHUA

The Philadelphia Orchestra

tours Hangzhou, Zhejiang prov-

ince, in May 2017.

LI ZHONG / FOR CHINA DAILY

Rise of

Ne Zha

New animated

film based on a

mythological

figure smashes

box-office

records,

Xu Fan reports.