Closeup: China's top film festival showcases cultural charm

The 2025 China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, featuring the 38th China Golden Rooster Awards, opened Tuesday evening in the coastal city of Xiamen, China's Fujian Province.

This year's festival coincides with two milestones -- the 130th anniversary of world cinema and the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema.

The opening ceremony brought together creative performances, new film promotions as well as the lighting of the golden rooster, marking the official start of the annual celebration of Chinese cinema.

As one of the earliest coastal cities open to the outside world, Xiamen embraced film culture early on. In 1905, a photographer held a public film screening on Gulangyu Island, drawing large crowds of spectators. From those early encounters to becoming the permanent home of the Golden Rooster Awards in 2019, Xiamen has evolved into a vibrant hub where cinematic art and local culture meet.

Among the highlights of this year's film festival is the introduction of a new mascot named Jingugu, a lively golden rooster that captures both the spirit of film and the charm of Xiamen.

"Jingugu was created to make film culture more accessible and relatable", explained Chen Yueping, deputy director of the Publicity Department of Xiamen Film Festival Co., Ltd., "Its design draws inspiration from the city itself -- the blue of the sky, the green of its trees, the gold of its beaches, and subtle patterns of bougainvillea, which is the city's floral emblem".

The mascot's bright, elegant outfit reflects the city's vibrancy, while the tail features the three primary colors of film -- red, yellow and blue. Its keen eyes, she noted, symbolize the filmmakers' creative vision and their ability to capture beauty through the lens.

Starting from November 1, the host city launched the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Life Season, offering residents and visitors a more immersive cinematic experience. The event includes international and domestic film exhibitions, ten themed film-tourism routes, a movie-themed subway carriage, a festival cruise, and sixteen pop-up stores selling festival-inspired merchandise across the city.

During the festival, events such as film screenings, academic forums and the Golden Rooster Film Venture Capital Conference will be held, with the winners of this year's Golden Rooster Awards set to be announced at the awards ceremony on Nov. 15. 

The 2025 China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival is co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC), the China Film Association and the Xiamen Municipal People's Government, and organized by the Movie Art Center under the CFLAC, China Film Press Co., Ltd., the Publicity Department of the CPC Xiamen Municipal Committee.