South China's Guangdong Province has officially announced the establishment of a TV and Film Center in Foshan City, aiming to catch up with Hollywood and Bollywood.
The South Film & TV Center is designed as a gathering center for the industry, and will cover production, research and development, copyright trading, personnel training and film-induced tourism.
When mentioning the vision of building a Guangdong equivalent to Hollywood, a local official pointed out that Guangdong has shown its outstanding advantages in the development of the Chinese film industry.
The province is highly acclaimed as China's largest powerhouse for the box office gains.
In 2015, Guangdong grabbed box office receipts worth nearly 6.25 billion yuan (or 898 million USD), accounting for one seventh of the country's total ticket sales.
From a long-term perspective, the launching of the center will be integrated with the industry transformation and upgrading of Foshan city, which is expected to enhance the city's openness to the outside world, and thus lift the city's international influence.
Forming part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, Foshan is one of China's most famous historical and cultural cities, and is the home of Kung Fu, lion dancing, and dragon boat racing. It is also famous for cultivating celebrities including Wong Fei-hung, Ip Man, and Bruce Lee.
As of December 20, China has more cinema screens than any other country in the world, with the figure reaching 40,917, according to China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.