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Beijing rewards patriotic moviegoers

Beijing officials will offer nearly a million discount coupons in a bid to get residents to flood theaters to watch patriotic films opening next month to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Communist China.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Beijing officials will offer nearly a million discount coupons in a bid to get residents to flood theaters to watch patriotic films opening next month to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Communist China.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Radio and Television will issue 900,000 coupons to moviegoers from Sept. 1 to Sept. 20 who watch patriotic movies such as "Tiananmen" and "The Founding of a Republic," Ding Feisi, a spokeswoman for the bureau, said Thursday.

Recipients will then be able to use the coupons to watch any movie at any theater in the city for only 10 yuan ($1.50) during October and November, compared to the normal prices of 40 yuan ($6) and 70 yuan ($10).

"We hope that this rewards program will not only promote film appreciation, but also encourage national unity for the 60th anniversary on Oct. 1," Ding said.

"The Founding of a Republic," opening Sept. 17, stars nearly every big actor from mainland China and Hong Kong, including Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi and Jackie Chan.

In addition to the slew of patriotic films opening before National Day on Oct. 1, Beijing will also host a celebration beginning with a speech by President Hu Jintao. There will also be a military parade along Beijing's main boulevard that crosses Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city, from where Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949, after a civil war with the Nationalists.

The parade will include performances involving 200,000 people, 60 floats and fireworks.

Chinese director Zhang Yimou, who designed the Beijing Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies last year, is also scheduled to direct a gala event.