Culture is the core and soul of a city, and is the inexhaustible driving force behind urban development. As Wuhan continues its economic and social development, constantly improves its comprehensive strength, and increasingly expands its cultural consuming capacity, movie being a hot spot in cultural consumption needs to keep up with the pace of development, so that demands of the general public and the market can be satisfied.

　　Wuhan is a city profoundly related to the historical origin of Chinese movies. During Wuhan’s 3500 years of time-honored history and culture, significant historical and cultural resources have been cumulated, for instance the classical allusion of bosom friends spending time together against the melody of lofty mountains and flowing water, Hua Mulan joining the army in place of her father, the first gunshot in the Revolution of 1911, and the vicissitudes of the National Revolution. They have not only proved to be major creative themes constantly receiving attention from and dug by movie artists, but have also become well-received masterpieces on the screen. Wuhan has played an important role in Chinese filmmaking history and has numerous records of being No. 1: Tan Xinpei, the first movie actor in China’s movie history, who played the prestigious Peking Opera elderly male role in the first Chinese movie Dingjun Mountain filmed by Fengtai Photo Studio in 1905, was from Wuhan; the first Chinese news documentary Wuhan War depicting the Revolution of 1911 was filmed in Wuhan in 1911; the first joint venture multi-hall combination movie theater in line with international standards was built in Wuhan Populace Paradise in 1997; the 22nd Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival and the 29th Golden Rooster Award were held in Wuhan in October 2013.

　　Wuhan’s economic development sustains the rise of its cultural industries. The city of Wuhan has achieved the highland effect in terms of national box office for it boasts a large urban area, comprehensive functions, a large population, and prominent locational advantages. In 2015, Wuhan movie market box office reached 1.29 billion Yuan, ranking 6th among Chinese cities (municipalities included), and for long maintained its place. The number of movie goers reached 39.53 million, which translated into almost 4 times per person given its resident population, and was four times that of the national average. As the box office highland in central China, Wuhan has attracted numerous theater chains across China to build movie theaters here. It boasts 14 theater chains among which are only two local theater chains. All leading theater chains have presence in Wuhan. The city has 84 movie theaters with a total of 577 screens. The number of movie goers in Wushang Mall Cinema and China Film Tianhe Cinema has long ranked on the top of the national list.

　　Cinemas are extensively built and distributed in Wuhan. Major commercial complexes in the downtown area and in the new urban districts are all equipped with cinemas. Advanced projection equipment and technologies including IMAX, DMAX, CGS, Dolby Atmos, REAL3D, DBOX Dynamic Movie, and SCREENX technology have all been applied here in Wuhan. Wuhan locals can enjoy high quality movie viewing without travelling far.

　　Another highlight is Wuhan public welfare movie projection, under which over 25 thousand sessions of movie viewing are organized annually by means of government procurement service as a way to support public welfare movie projection. Meanwhile, 400 sessions of open-air movie viewing are organized on construction sites for migrant workers. Public welfare advertisements promoting civilization and courtesy among Wuhan citizens are played prior the beginning of every movie shown at all movie theaters.

　　Foreign theater chains such as Korea’s CGV and Lotte, and Hong Kong’s UA and Broadway have built movie theaters in Wuhan, given the frequent interaction between Wuhan and foreign enterprises. Currently, there are 10 such movie theaters. Hong Kong’s UA entered the Wuhan market as early as 1997 and built the nationally renowned Wuhan Populace Paradise Studiocity. Broadway Cinema entered the Wuhan market in 2003. Korea’s CGV and Lotte sequentially entered the Wuhan market around 2010. The entering of foreign enterprises have brought in new technologies and aroused dynamic reactions among local filmmakers. For instance, Wuhan Populace Paradise Studiocity was one of the earliest IMAX project introduced to China. Another example being Korea’s CGV transforming the construction concept of a movie theater from excessive pursuit of big screen to multiple small-hall structures.

　　According to statistics, currently there are 136 video production organizations within the province, among which over 95% are private video production organizations. In the last 5 years, 46 feature movies (4 popular science movies) were filmed, among which Lost on Journey produced jointly by Wuhan Huaqi Movies and TV Production and Hubei Provincial Film Distribution and Exhibition, and Young Style produced by Huanggang Digital Network Corporation both earned almost 40 million Yuan in box office. Lost on Journey won Best Comedy Feature at the Beijing College Student Film Festival. Young Style and Mark of Youth won China Film Column Award and the “Five One Project” Award of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. The Ferry won Humanitarian Award at the 37th Montreal International Film Festival, and it won Best Director, Best Actor and Best Score at the 14th Pyongyang International Film Festival. Popular science movie Polyculture Technique of Shrimp and Crab won China Film Column Award. Animation People’s 1911 got nominated for Best Animation at the 15th China Film Column Award.

　　It is reported that, between 2002 and 2008, the annual average number of movies produced in Hubei province was merely one. Progress has been made in recent years. Between 2011 and 2012 twelve movies were produced, among which seven were in 2011 and five in 2012. Six movies including Battle with Heaven and Earth and Young Style were released in 2013. It is learned that in 2012 alone there were 27 movies censored and approved in Jiangsu province, while Zhejiang province produced a number of heavyweight movies such as Back to 1942, Caught in the Web, and Painted Skin II. In 2012, China produced as many as 893 movies. Therefore, it is concluded that in terms of box office Wuhan trailed only first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, however, Wuhan lingered in the middle and lower reaches in terms of comprehensive strength.

　　The largest filmmaking base in central China was built on the north bank of the Yangtze River in Shuangliu country of Wuhan’s Xinzhou district. It is the largest, the most comprehensively functional and the most professional filmmaking and cultural industrial base throughout the entire central China area. It boasts typical architectural structures and featured streetscape of various major cities in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, antique architectural complex of the Chu culture, large-scaled modern film studios and post production workshops, and a filmmaking educational training academy specializing in aerial photography, as well as facilities such as aqua park, high-end hotel and commercial property.