When Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen came to theaters in China in 2009, most Chinese people knew very little about IMAX screens. Today, Chinese are quite familiar with these dome screens, and more and more movies are being released with IMAX versions. Amid this giant-screen fever, Chinese cinemas are unveiling special screening halls, and even introducing new technologies that are shaking up the industry.

The technological system that supports IMAX movies was invented by three Canadians in the 1960s, and rose to mainstream popularity in the West during the 1990s. The standard screen is 22 meters wide and 16 meters high, almost as large as a basketball court, and much larger than ordinary screens. Audiences enjoy an enhanced visual experience, with these massive screens taking up nearly every square-inch in their field of view.

But IMAX equipment is very costly, and theaters that wish to show IMAX films are required to pay additional fees once they're up and running.

The high cost of IMAX technology has prompted Chinese cinemas and film companies to make their own versions of the giant screens. Wang Bozheng, former general manager of Shanghai Peace Cinema, told China Culture Daily that the equipment needed to make a theater IMAX-ready costs more than 10 million yuan (about $1.5 million), while domestically produced equipment is about one-tenth of that price. "Not to mention that you wouldn't see the same maintenance expenses or the fee for transforming the film," he said.

In April 2010, China Film Group Corporation and the China Research Institute of Film Science and Technology began to cooperate to produce Chinese giant screen equipment.

In July 2011, this Chinese giant screen was ready for prime time. Since then, films, both domestic and from abroad, such as The Smurfs, China 1911, and It's Love, have been shown on these Chinese-made giant screens, amazing audiences with a visual effect that many say is as excellent as that of IMAX technology.

In December 2011, these Chinese giant screens were formally introduced into Beijing's UME Cinemas, sparking a standoff between Chinese-made giant screens and the IMAX industry. Around the same time, Poly Cinemas launched its POLYMAX giant screen theaters, declaring that it had adopted the world's most advanced projection equipment.

And one and a half years earlier, the Jackie Chan Cinema at Wukesong in Beijing introduced its own giant screen, featuring technology that the cinema researched and produced by itself. The theater has a capacity of more than 590 seats with a screen that is 25 meters wide and 17 meters high, projecting on a scale that is quite impressive in Asia, not to mention throughout the world.

"When we decided to build a giant screen cinema, we originally thought about using IMAX, but it was too expensive. Then we chose to develop our own technology that could present the same amazing visual effect on a giant screen," said Liu Zhenhua, vice president of Beijing Jackie Chan Cinemas.

Compared to IMAX, Chinese-made giant screens seem to have an edge. According to Yang Xuepei, director of the China Research Institute of Film Science and Technology, every year only about 10 films are released in IMAX versions, while Chinese giant screen technology is available for more film titles. Theoretically, almost any film can be played on a Chinese-made giant screen.

"After about 10 days of reformatting, a film can be shown on any of our giant screens. It's only a matter of time before more good films are released on the giant screen," Yang said to the People's Daily Overseas Edition.

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