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This is NEWS Plus Special English.
China's box office totaled 3 billion yuan, roughly 460 million U.S. dollars, during the Spring Festival holiday week, the highest compared with previous holidays.
The film authority says the box office from Feb. 8 to 13 increased by 67 percent over the same period of last year.
Three Chinese movies contributed to almost 94 percent of the box office in this period. Among them, "Mermaid", directed by Hong Kong comedian and director Stephen Chow, led the box office by making 1.5 billion yuan.
"From Vegas to Macau III", starring Hong Kong actors Chow Yun-fat and Andy Lau, scored 680 million yuan, while "The Monkey King 2" took the third place with 650 million yuan.
"Kung Fu Panda 3" was also a success, profiting 812 million yuan, since its screening on Jan. 29.
China's box office earnings reached 44 billion yuan last year, up almost 50 percent over that of 2014. The number of audience totaled 1.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 51 percent.
China has been one of the most fast-growing film markets across the world. As more cinemas open in smaller cities and towns, going to watch movies becomes a lifestyle in those places. Experts say China may overtake the United States to be the world's largest film market in the next two to three years.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
Beijing will earmark 17 billion yuan, roughly 2.6 billion U.S. dollars, to improve air quality this year.
The Beijing environment authorities said the funds will be used to cut back on coal use and eliminate outmoded vehicles in the capital.
The average density of PM2.5 in Beijing last year declined by 6 percent year on year. PM2.5 refers to airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, and is a major pollutant for bad air in northern China.
Beijing aims for a year-on-year drop of 5 percent in its average PM2.5 reading this year.
The city government has promised to remove 200,000 high-emission vehicles from the roads and promote the use of clean energy in 400 villages this year.
