chang'an avenue, a history of chinese film
2024-09-02
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the history of chinese cinema began in beijing: the daguanlou cinema in qianmen dashilan recorded the birth of chinese cinema, and the film "dingjun mountain" gave china its own film.
andthe first state-owned cinema in new china was also established in beijing.the capital cinema on chang'an avenue, which originated in the republic of china, has gone through ups and downs such as name change, restructuring, demolition, and reconstruction. it has witnessed the ups and downs of chinese films and carried the light and shadow memories of generations of audiences.
nirvana
the history of capital cinema began in the republic of china period.
in the 1920s and 1930s, business flourished on the east and west sides of chang'an avenue, and the number of tourists increased, forming a bustling street market. cinemas, theaters and other entertainment venues were established in the streets and markets, with more than a dozen on the east and west sides of chang'an avenue alone.
on the evening of march 7, 1937, the xinxin grand theater, which was built by the famous peking opera actor ma lianliang and his friends, opened for the first time. ma lianliang, zhang junqiu, ye shenglan, ma fulu and other famous actors presented their unique skills. xinxin grand theater is the predecessor of the capital cinema.
xinxin grand theater is located on the south side of the road between xidan and liubukou on west chang'an street. the whole building is designed to imitate the china grand theater in tianjin, with a two-story bell tower shape. the downstairs is a pool seat that can accommodate 1,000 people, and the upstairs has boxes and scattered seats that can accommodate 400 people. the theater is equipped with dimming lights and sound insulation. there is a black velvet curtain in front of the stage; behind the stage is a yellow satin curtain embroidered with blue ancient carriages, horses, and people, which is eye-catching and beautiful. during the republic of china period, peking opera was unprecedentedly prosperous. shang xiaoyun, cheng yanqiu, yan jupeng, meng xiaodong and other famous opera artists have performed on stage at xinxin grand theater. the master's style is memorable.
in 1946, the xinxin grand theater was first renamed the beijing grand theater, and at the end of the year it was renamed the national grand theater.
after the founding of new china, in order to enrich the cultural life of the people, the relevant government departments rebuilt and renovated the old theaters and cinemas.in 1950, premier zhou enlai named the national grand theater "capital cinema". since then, this war-torn theater has become the first state-owned cinema in the country.guo moruo personally inscribed the name of the cinema, and this sign has been used to this day. at the strong invitation of premier zhou enlai, hua danni, the wife of filmmaker and director shi dongshan, came from hong kong to become the first general manager of the capital cinema.
"the capital cinema is important because it has a certain historical weight and a certain political influence," said guan zhibin, the sixth general manager of the capital cinema. "in the first few years after the founding of new china, chairman mao, premier zhou and other older generation party and state leaders came to the capital cinema to watch movies and plays."
hot morning
before the reform and opening up, there were not many films that audiences could see in domestic cinemas. apart from the eight model operas, there were the "three wars" - "tunnel warfare", "landmine warfare" and "south-north campaign". sometimes documentaries were shown, and the most familiar "star" among the audience was cambodia's prince sihanouk, because the cinema often showed documentaries about chairman mao's meeting with him. imported films were mostly from socialist countries such as north korea, vietnam, and albania.
at the beginning of reform and opening up, new and old films were released together, and movie theaters ushered in their first boom point.the capital cinema is located on chang'an avenue and is a time-honored brand, so it naturally becomes the first choice for many beijingers to watch movies.
"it's been many years since i've seen so many movies showing at the same time! there are a lot of old movies, many of which no one has seen, plus there are new movies coming out all the time... the cinema used to open at noon and show five shows a day, but now it has to open early at eight or nine in the morning." liu hongpeng, the fifth general manager of capital cinema, still clearly remembers that tickets for "the sea eagle", "heroic courage" and "wild fire spring breeze fighting the ancient city" starring wang xiaotang sold very well.
in 1982, jet li's "shaolin temple" became popular all over the country. in order to meet the audience's demand for watching movies, the capital cinema actually started showing the film at five o'clock in the morning, and every show was still packed.
on december 4, 1993, students from lixue primary school in xicheng district, beijing, watched "the red star" at the capital cinema. source: beijing daily
in 1994, harrison ford's the fugitive allowed chinese audiences to see hollywood blockbusters for the first time, and the total box office of more than 40 million yuan officially opened the "gold-digging road" for imported blockbusters in mainland china. when true lies was released in the same year, the 30-yuan ticket at the capital cinema was sold for more than 100 yuan.
when film producers hold premieres and fan-favorite events, capital cinema is the first choice.guan zhibin recalled that at that time, the capital cinema had activities almost every week. almost all the big directors and big stars in the film industry had visited the "capital", which made the capital cinema extremely popular.
in 1999, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of new china, the capital cinema was renovated. the original ticket window was closed and an open ticket counter was set up in the lobby so that the audience and ticket sellers could communicate directly, and the service quality was continuously improved.
relocation of the old building
entering the 1990s, the cultural life of citizens became more and more colorful, and various cultural, sports and entertainment activities emerged. television, ktv, discos, billiards and bowling all became popular and diverted a large number of audiences.
since 1993, the chinese film market has entered a period of depression that lasted for more than ten years. the film production has shrunk, high-quality commercial films are scarce, and the number of moviegoers has continued to be sluggish. the number of audiences coming to the theater has dropped sharply, and the capital cinema has begun to withdraw its theaters. the morning show time has become later and later, and it has returned to the state of opening after 12 noon. the morale of the employees is also relatively low. even so, the capital cinema is still doing well among its peers and can still maintain a balance between income and expenditure. some theaters can't bear it and have closed down.
as beijing develops,in 2003, after 66 years of operation, the capital cinema was ready to relocate.
at that time, due to the presence of the capital cinema and other institutions, there was an obvious road curve on the south side of the liubukou section of chang'an avenue. this section suddenly changed from 6 lanes to 4 lanes, becoming an old "blocking point" in the city center. in order to "clear the blood vessels" of chang'an avenue, the capital cinema was relocated.
in the last days of the old cinema, many viewers took their cameras to the cinema to take pictures in front of the cinema, commemorating this old building that had left unforgettable memories for countless people. the cinema opened a large white cloth in the lobby for the audience to leave messages. in less than two days, the white cloth was filled with affectionate blessings from fans. many old viewers also sent very touching letters. guan zhibin remembered that a fan named song jun said in the letter that he was born in 1939 and had been coming to the "capital" to watch movies with his father since he could remember. the capital cinema has experienced the vicissitudes of history and witnessed films from different periods.
on june 17, 2003, the capital cinema held a farewell ceremony for its relocation.under the watchful eyes of all the staff, the cinema emblem covered with a red cloth was slowly removed from the main entrance wall. an old movie fan, holding a ticket stub from the 1960s, fondly recalled the time when he watched movies here when he was young: "at that time, it was a great pleasure to watch a movie at the capital cinema for a few cents. i really don't want it to move away."
in june 2003, the capital cinema held a farewell ceremony for its demolition. photo by beijing daily reporter sun jian
reopening
in february 2008, after an absence of five years, the capital cinema reunited with the audience on the 10th floor of xidan joy city.the new capital cinema had 14 halls and 2,008 seats. at that time, it was the cinema with the largest number of halls in beijing, and its projection equipment was also the most advanced.
the new capital cinema considered fuchengmen and xizhimen as the locations, but finally decided to be on the 10th floor of xidan joy city. deng yonghong, the seventh general manager of the cinema, said that after the initial market research, everyone believed that the cinema could form a "spraying effect" with the shopping mall - "first pull people up, and then let them go down one floor at a time, bringing traffic to the mall." as expected, the 20% discount on meals with movie tickets made the catering companies in joy city profit first. the cinema and joy city also contributed to the popularity of the xidan business district.
the decoration of the new capital cinema was designed by several design companies, and finally the designer from the design institute of the state administration of radio, film and television was invited to take charge, and the experts from the academy of fine arts of tsinghua university helped with the consultation. the basic color of the cinema is set as chinese red and gray, which is both high-end and cultural. the ceiling of the hall creates a faint twinkling starry sky effect.
in the second year of its opening, the cinema’s annual box office exceeded 60 million yuan, ranking first among single cinemas in the country.over the years, its ranking has never fallen out of the top five cinemas in the country, and it is one of the most popular cinemas in beijing.before the advent of online ticket purchase, there would be huge queues of people on holidays such as may day and national day.
in the summer of 2018, the capital cinema was packed with people and very popular. photo by beijing daily reporter he guanxin
from the first wide-screen cinema in new china to the first optical stereo cinema in beijing, and then to the first cinema in beijing with box office revenues of over one million and ten million yuan... for 87 years, capital cinema has always been at the forefront of china's projection industry. today, the chain business is making the golden signboard of "capital cinema" shine brighter and brighter.
in 2024, a signboard with guo moruo's inscription was hung inside the capital cinema's sub-center store. photo courtesy of capital cinema
after the opening of financial street store, changping store, and zhonghua store,on january 3, 2024, the capital cinema city sub-center store located on the north canal in tongzhou was officially launched.it became the first cinema in beijing to carry out complex innovation.
this 7,243-square-meter space integrates movie-watching, art, handcrafts, and technology. it is not only a cinema, but also an art gallery and picture book library. you can also watch performances and experience handcrafts. shi rui, the current general manager of capital cinema, said that he hopes to make it a benchmark for comprehensive cultural and entertainment consumption spaces and to make an attempt at innovative operations in the domestic cinema industry.
from the old building to the new location, from the core area to the sub-center, the capital cinema has always been an important part of the cultural life of the capital's citizens and has become an indelible memory on chang'an avenue.
