Discussion. This summer from the air-conditioned cool comfort of cinemas to sun-soaked adventures outdoors From immersive ecotourism to thrilling theme park rides, China is alive with summer fun.
Join us as we dive into the trends turning this summer into a season of fun and fresh experiences.
Consumption isn't just about spending, it's about living.
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Coming to you live from Beijing, this is Roundtable.
I'm Ha Young. For today's program, I'm joined by Steve Hatherly and Yushan in the studio.
First on today's show. The solar term Liqiu may mark the start of autumn on the traditional Chinese calendar, but the summer heat isn't going anywhere just yet, and neither are the sizzling of activities that have kept the season alive for more than two full months.
Here in China, summer has become a celebration of fresh trends and travel and leisure from box office blockbusters and must-see cultural spots. to ecotourism escapes and thrill-packed theme parks. is proof that in the sweltering heat, there are endless ways to keep the season blazing.
Let's take a look at the big screen, which is buzzing with energy.
And industry analysts say that what's really setting this season apart is the high quality of the films themselves.
So, which titles and genres are audiences most excited about, Yushan?
Wow, we've seen quite a couple of standout movies this summer, I think. audiences, we love them.
And also many of these names, they've become real hot topics across social media as well.
So some of the movies that are leading the box office right now include Nanjing Zhao Xiangguan or Debt to Rights, which is a historical drama film that's ranking top with a top of box office with a total of over 25 billion yuan that's roughly 3.5 billion us dollars made and also it's followed by Lang Lang Shan de Xiao Yao Guai, which is also known to be Nobody in English, is an animation movie that's making over 1 billion yuan or roughly 144 million US dollars of revenue. up till now and the third a movie that's ranking the top five is the Lychee Road, or Chang'an de Lizhi, which is also, say, a historical-themed road Chinese movie that's making 672 million yuan or roughly a little bit over 93 million US dollars by now followed by Jurassic World Rebirth, and also Luo Xiao Hei Zheng Ji 2, The Legend of Hei 2, which is also an animation movie, who... were top five titling up until mid-August this year.
And that's according to CCTV News. So we see all different genre. showing up this summer that's, you know, kind of catching the eyes lately and everybody's just feeling thrilled about the stories that's being screened.
I think we talked about the Lychee Road film when we were talking about Lychees, like actual Lychees.
That was the TV drama series. And people are comparing the two.
Well, you can see this is a very popular property.
Who wrote it again? I don't remember. Ma Boyong, Ma Boyong.
Yes, very famous author. And he must have... profited hugely from it good for him good for him tv shows and movies yeah doing well and the movies are getting even better reviews which is cool Yeah, and also over the weekend, we saw some new changes, some new released movies that's quickly shaking up the charts as well.
As of 11 a.m. this morning on August 18th, the brand new release 捕风追影 or The Shadow's Edge which is an action movie starring Jackie Chan and Tony Leung Kai-Fai.
This one has already pulled in 224 million yuan. just three days after hitting the theaters.
We know Jackie Chan is internationally famed action star.
And in the movie, The two of them, these two very famous Chinese kung fu stars, they're leading up a team of younger generation of action movie stars.
And those younger ones, they were performing really well as well.
We can see those young guys that's even younger than I am just doing the flips. from jumping off the wall from a really dangerous angle.
And even Jackie Chang himself was impressed in a way that he wants to, you know, really bring up these younger names and faces to the audience I've just looked it up now because I just thought of it I was curious how old is Jackie Chan now do you know He's 71.
He's 71 years old now. And Tony, he is, I think, 67-ish.
Unbelievable. What a career. Yeah, his movies are really popular in the West, obviously, but one of my favorite things to watch.
At the end of his films, they would always release the, you already know what I'm talking about, right?
Yeah, the backstage scenes. Well, the backstage scenes where he was practicing the stunts and where he couldn't get it right exactly. but yet still amazing when he wasn't even doing it correctly.
And he was always having fun and laughing.
And yeah, those were some of the most popular clips.
Yes, and out of all these different genres and these interesting properties, what do you think is drawing people? back into the cinema and we've talked about this on the show After recent years, it's kind of hard sometimes to actually get people to the site and do something and consume.
I think you mentioned it before, the quality of the films.
That's like the number one most important thing, right?
And sure, when you have a competitive film industry, and it raises the bar for everyone, it does make it tougher for the filmmaking companies to put out a top quality product, right?
It makes it tougher on the actors and the actresses because more is expected of them, of the writers as well, because the plot lines have to be better as well. the positive side of that is you get better movies and when you get better movies you get more people going to the theater to see them And me on a personal level, I went to watch Dead to Rights, which is Nanjing Zhaoxianguan.
I think this year many of movies falling into this category, which is the historical and patriotic, They're making a timely hit because this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. and of course the world anti-fascist war.
So at this time period, Many of such movies are or are about to be screened in a way for people to just remember the history, remember what the Chinese people went through during wartime, during World War II.
So when I was there watching debt to rise.
I have to be honest, I cried a whole bag of napkin out.
I was prepared for it. It was not. a feel-good movie.
Let's say it was not meant to make you feel good.
It's a wartime memorial movie about the real history of Nanjing Massacre, which happened in 1938. in December the 13th of 1937.
So it talks about, I'll just go through it very quickly.
So the movie talks about the invading Japanese troops capturing Nanjing and starting six weeks of horror that killed more than 300,000 civilians and unarmed soldiers there in Nanjing.
And yeah, just throughout the movie you can see how the actors and the director the production team in general they were trying to avoid the very violent yet in your face striking kind of scene but just using small people, random people's experiences to make all the audience just drop into that story and travel back in time with the whole production team.
Of course, it really attracted people in a way that they feel like they were shocked.
And that's one big hit for this movie and many other movies this summer as well is that it's bringing in the distance between whatever that's being screened and the actual audience that's sitting in modern theaters today.
I think that's a very powerful narrative for movies this summer and many of them are doing such a great job yeah i mean these types of movies they can be emotional to watch right and of course for the directors and the producers and the actors involved, it would be emotional to make as well.
But I think one of the reasons these types of stories is successful is because it does bring the work closer to the audience.
Right if you watch If you watch an action movie, those are great to watch in the summertime too, but there's still a bit of a gap there, isn't there, between the on-screen story?
But when you have stories, historical films that tell tragic stories, then the audience feels very close to those types of films.
And that's one of the wonderful things things that the movie medium can do and speaking of bringing maybe work or bringing these stories closer, closely felt to the audience. the animation movies this year are doing very well.
It's really interesting also to see that increasingly in China, Maybe across the world as well, animation movies are being enjoyed by adults and kids and adults for the working adults, the everyday people like us who ride the subway and rely on paycheck to paycheck, some of these animation films just hit too close to home and people love them.
Yeah, I think you're talking about 浪浪山的手妖怪 which is nobody.
I love the English translation, by the way.
So this animation movie is It's kind of following the steps of the blockbuster Noja 2 from earlier this year, but it also made its own highlighted record. given that now it has surpassed 1 billion yuan in ticket sales, which makes it the highest-grossing 2D animated movie in Chinese box office history.
So what this story is about is based on the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West or the same origin where the very famous domestic game called Black Myth Wukong is based from.
So based on that story, The film didn't focus on the main characters, but instead it spotlights the countless little puny 妖怪, or rather Chinese little monsters. that appear in the novel.
So they focus on those random smaller characters and focus on their growth of trying to mimic what the leading, say, sutra collecting team did or trying to be the real team or just try to say start up something of their own, starting a journey of their own. and growing and gaining experiences along the way.
And it's just something that just everyday people can relate to.
Like you said, He Yang, a lot of people, especially those like us, the everyday working people, they feel so resonated.
And while a lot of children and kids, they were attracted because of nature as an animation movie.
We hear children's laughter and working people's weeping sounded in the same theater that's what everybody is talking about on social media i mean it's kind of genius filmmaking when they're able to do this right they make films that yeah parents want to take their children to the theater because the kids will enjoy watching it but yet there's so much going on in the films that That the kids won't get, but the parents will definitely get.
So it's just, you know, for the people who make the movies, it's a win-win.
You're hitting with all audiences. Yeah.
Indeed, and we're also seeing that there's this term circulating on social media about Ticket economics.
How does that help the cinema business? Yeah, well, when you have movie ticket subsidies and partnerships between movie theaters and local businesses, like when you get a discount.
Right. If you get your movie ticket and then you get a discount somewhere else.
Well, that's just an attractive thing for people when they're considering going to a film.
Yeah, it's called Ticket Economy, right?
And this summer, through to National Day, Beijing is rolling out a 10 million yuan movie ticket subsidy with over...
30 shopping centers getting involved and with just one movie ticket people can enjoy discounts and special offers at various restaurants and shops.
And it kind of turns the ticket into a gateway for even more benefits, right?
Because the movie's just one. part of your day or part of your evening, if you will, if you take advantage of those discounts at different spots.
Yeah, in practices, some of the animation movies are now those that are very popular, they're selling their merchandise that's released under this IP of this animation movie and it's really selling so well.
And also the benefit that I personally got was using your ticket for going to the movie in exchange for free parking.
I think that's really nice. Yeah. That's not like traditionally we don't know movie theater that they're collaborating with the malls too, but they're doing that nowadays.
That's a good perk to have. I often think of movies as pure escapism, a way to dream and be transported to another world. this summer, films are doing more than just entertaining.
They're affecting real world experiences, inspiring travel and boosting cultural tourism.
So how exactly are movies turning theaters into gateways for exploration and adventure?
So this year, the film plus cultural tourism model is gradually maturing, with many filming locations becoming popular tourist hotspots.
So one of the film sites featuring the film that's also released lately called Dongji Rescue.
It's located in Zhou Shan in eastern China's Zhejiang Province.
So based on the movie, this traveling place had sparked an island exploration craze because The story took place on an island, exactly where that historical incident took place.
That movie, Dongji Rescue, is based on a real-life Lisbon Maru incident during the WWII and The film tells the story of a group of Chinese fishermen who bravely risked their lives to rescue hundreds of British prisoners off from a war stranded from a ship, a big ship war stranded at sea and under the Japanese troops attacks it was kind of a collaboration between the chinese and the english uh... sorry the british uh... movie producers so that's how this shooting spot, which is also the historical incident where it took place.
This island in eastern China's Zhejiang Province is sparking such an island exploration that's attracting projects such as homestays, night markets, and island experiences. just seeing a surge in popularity on the tourism wise.
So that's something new, too. It's almost always successful.
I remember I was visiting Jeju Island, which is the island south of Korea. and is a really popular vacation spot.
And they had filmed a Korean drama there.
And they had... put up posters and had a little, like, tour area of where they filmed at least one or two of the scenes, maybe more.
And I thought, oh, okay, you know, like...
Stop by and see what's going on. I thought it would be empty.
I thought, who cares? Oh, no. No, no, no.
Not at all. The tourists were lined up around the block to go in there and take pictures.
So it's just a good idea when you can combine tourism. with TV shows or with the film industry because it just adds an extra element of enjoyment for the audience.
And this summer, as temperature rises, leisure activities such as cooling tours and cultural tours have become very popular.
What do the numbers say about how big this market has become?
Well, as the summer holiday season approaches this year it was already forecasted even before it starts that the China Meteorological Administration releasing 16 nationwide summer vacation routes that's covering over 60 cities in 21 provinces all around China.
Data from Meituan Travel, which is one of the leading lifestyle travel or lifestyle platform here in China, The data suggests that the search volume for summer escape tours has surged by nearly 200%. comparing with the previous month since July.
So that's how popular people are throwing themselves into.
They're really attracted to traveling during summertime as well.
This is it, right? We're in the peak season of travel right now.
That's what the Ministry of Culture and Tourism estimates anyway.
They show that the peak... is from June 23rd all the way to August 31st, which is a good amount of time for people to take their vacations.
Yeah. I guess that's because of the end of the high school entrance exams and then the beginning of the summer vacation. for schools so it's just perfect timing for families to get away and all across the country there's various regions that are putting out measures like discounted or free admission to some various scenic spots, and that's going to help boost the market, right?
This summer, the number of travelers is expected to to hit a record high.
And cultural and heritage sites have been pretty popular in recent years.
I guess people really want to add a little bit of cultural flair to Their travel packages.
Maybe I should learn something worthwhile instead of just... laying on the beach and staring up at the sky.
It's so deep within our, say, nature, isn't it, for Chinese people that I've heard this joke recently from a stand-up comedy that Chinese people when they travel, they don't just travel, they have to learn something or bring something back home with them, even if it's knowledge.
Well, thank goodness it's knowledge, because mentioning cultural and heritage travel, there is one particular site in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, In northwestern China, just right under the Helan Mountains, there is the Xisha Tombs, that's just added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. in July and this site have quickly become a must visit spot during the summer because the Ningxia Department of Culture and Tourism reports about a whopping 280% increase in ticket booking there with even more people flocking to nearby hotels and restaurants.
I remember watching like a preview of say, a documentary about this Xisha tomb in Ningxiahui Autonomous Region.
And then a few months later in the summer, it becomes a very popular travel site, apparently.
There's also a hot spot in a place called Yuhang, which is in Zhejiang province, and it's an archaeological site park. and it opened the world's first VR large-scale space based on an ancient city.
Liangzhou, is that how you pronounce that ancient city?
Yeah, so when you go there, You can experience the scenes of ancient people building irrigation systems and planting rice and raising pigs.
And the life of the ancestors from that city are on display for you to experience in this really vivid kind of way.
And it brings to life. through digital restoration, this ancient city and talk about education, but yet still using cool new tech to deliver that education, that message.
That's why that's so popular, obviously.
Yeah, the Liangzhu Park is among the older generation, let's say, archaeological parks, because in 2025, by i think it was in june where there's 10 more archaeological parks that's been released here in china that's all over china so it's definitely a main hitting spot during summer travels.
And speaking of culture, Well, museums are supposed to be filled with culture and history, and that's become... a must visit spot for many people when they're planning their itinerary.
Yeah, I mean, museums, it's a cool place.
It's an indoor place. Literally. Air conditioned spots are always popular and the museums are usually nice and cool.
It's so fancy when I read about it in the news that in the ancient city of Wushan in South China's Yunnan Province, They're letting children to get immersively into the Nanjiao Museum where they can experience the ancient market. atmosphere, exploring ancient architecture and wood carving techniques, and even making their own intangible cultural heritage incense. these say activities, they're all very local based.
And of course, for people that's not from Yunnan, is of a huge attraction.
I'm already interested, but simply reading off it, from the news so ever since the beginning of the summer Wushan in Dali the city of Dali in Yunnan has received over 400,000 tourists with more than 40% of them being attracted from educational studies and also the research.
Just simply reflecting this rapid growth of summer study tour in a way.
The study tour economy. I think we talked about that on the show one day too, right?
Yes, we did. And another big story is the rise of ecotourism.
And more and more travelers are choosing nature based getaways, hiking trails. stargazing camps or wildlife experiences, it's a trend that speaks both to health and sustainability.
Why are people so drawn to ecotourism and how is it changing the way we think about the country's natural spaces?
Well ecotourism is just becoming more and more seen and attended in recent years. because well latest data from the national forestry and grassland administration shows that the number of ecotourism visitors in China has reached over 2 billion in 2024 alone,
And China has also developed $4 trillion industries that include economic forests, wood processing and health tourism. forest-based economy that's employing over 60 million people and offering job for the local who attend in such businesses.
I think the country is just perfectly suited for ecotourism, isn't it?
You've got forests here. You've got grasslands.
You've got wetlands. You've got deserts.
You have protected natural areas as well, and it covers 70% of the country's land area.
It's the perfect spot for ecotourism. Since the reform and the opening... opening up period, the ecotourism sector itself has done very well for itself.
It's transformed from this simple sightseeing industry to this vibrant or diverse sector that plays a really important role in economic and social development. and also improving people's livelihoods.
So there's that. And then I think on top of that, people have become more...
Travel conscious, I think about, you know, hope so.
Right. Wanting to wanting to be a good tourist and leave less of a of a footprint. when your vacation is finished.
So those two things kind of go hand in hand.
So, yeah, that's around, I think, in late 1970s when... our governments, they really pay attention to supporting the development of more diverse ecotourism routes and one is some of course following the State Council's guidelines on just promoting high-quality tourism development where 14 new ecotourism Routes were released in September 2024 that can connect key nature landscapes. that includes all the different landscapes you just mentioned, Steve.
There are forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes. and once they are connected I believe there are a higher chance where people can just combine different landscape in one trip and see different places all together.
So these routes, they cover over 130 ecotourism destinations which will, of course, further enrich the supply of high quality ecotourism products and services.
Like I mentioned earlier, it provides job.
It gives local people an opportunity of making their local say richness in Their own say lush mountains and rivers into something that can further promote their own lives in a way.
A lot of jobs, too, as a matter of fact.
There was a report from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
It highlighted that nearly... 300,000 new forestry business entities have been developed across the country, and that includes Some family-run forest and forestry cooperatives.
So this is proof that it's going down to the grassroots levels, isn't it?
So the jobs, yeah, I said a lot, right? Around 47 million jobs or jobs for 47 million farmers. have been created through these collective forestry initiatives.
That's a lot of new job openings. And that's a great opportunity for the locals.
And also we see gradual incremental change in the tourists. or the traveler's mindset as well.
But I think we need more of that to educate people to not be engaging in over-commercialized activities and also be a responsible traveler, that kind of thing.
And for this particular ecotourism aspect of things.
Could you guys each recommend one place that is an awesome site?
Well, I'm going to go with China's first ancient Correct me if I'm pronouncing it wrong.
Zhangshu, so camphor forest, camphor forest.
That's in Liu Kong town of southwest China's Jiangxi province, where the first ancient camphor forest of China is situated with a stunning 10-mile stretch of over 10,000 ancient camphor trees and So there, over 3,000 trees are more than 500 years old.
Wow. with over a thousand trees exceeding a thousand years in age.
That must be so cool to stand in the middle of that.
Or just simply give them a hug. I don't know if you can reach your arms around them.
That's a good one. Maybe this one's better.
I don't know. It depends on your taste. How about this?
A trip to the Deep Valley Forest for a transformative eco-oxygen bar.
This was once an empty, rocky hill, and it didn't have a lot of plants there or vegetation.
The trails were really, really difficult.
This is also in Jiangsu province, but it's now undergone... Help me out with the name of that place.
Liangyonggang? Thank you very much. From what it was to what it is now, it's totally different in the last few years.
So they prioritized ecological conservation and they really focused on water resources and Had people, local people helping out and it's not only preserved the stones which are ancient there. and the trees which are ancient there, but it's also developed this kind of visitor-friendly facility or facilities like water platforms and safe pathways for people to travel around.
So what used to be kind of a barren land that was really difficult to traverse, is now this vibrant eco-oasis where you can go and relax and chill out and cool off and beat that summer heat.
Oh, we would like that. From summer travels to roller coaster rides, the fun continues and theme parks are leading the charge.
Stay tuned.
