However, sources with the Cultural Bureau of Hangzhou indicate that currently only a half dozen traditional movie houses are still around, struggling desperately to make ends meet.

Insiders in the sector expect that these survivors will not last very long.

Two long-established movie houses in the downtown area of the city, the Taipingyang Cinema and the Xinhua Cinema, are to be converted into stock trading centers in the near future.

But the Qingchun Grand Movie Center, the first multi-screen movie complex in the city, has proved to be a great success.

With a total investment of 12 million yuan (US$1.44 million), the Qinchun Grand Movie Center was opened to customers in August 1999. It gained its position as the biggest film operator in Hangzhou within a year.

Its ticket income for the year 2000 reached 15.61 million yuan (US$1.88 million), accounting for 60 per cent of that of the whole city.

Inspired by the success of the Qingchun Grand Movie Center, more movie complexes are now under construction.

Two movie centers, even bigger than the Qingchun Grand Movie Center, the Yongjin Movie Supermarket and the Cuiyuan Grand Movie Center, will be put into operation within months.

Most of the traditional single-screen cinemas in Hangzhou are old fashioned.

"Nowadays, what the movie-goers care most about is comfort and convenience," said Zhang Yi, general manager of the Qingchun Grand Movie Center. "In this respect, the traditional cinemas are no match for us."

Compared with traditional cinemas, the success of the multi-screen cinemas lies in their offer of a much wider range of choice as well as great amenities, said an expert with Zhejiang University.

(China Daily 7/25/2001)