Hundred Flowers Awards kick off in Beijing

The 38th Hundred Flowers Awards, one of China's most prestigious film honors, opened at Beijing's Chaoyang Park on Thursday night.

Functioning much like a film festival this year, the event features a range of activities, including themed forums and discussions on artificial intelligence-generated works. The eight awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, will be presented on Monday after being selected by a jury of 101 moviegoers.

Veteran actress Zhu Xijuan, the first recipient of the Best Actress award at the inaugural Hundred Flowers Awards for her role in The Red Detachment of Women, recalled traveling from Shanghai to Beijing at the age of 24 to receive the trophy in 1962.

Now 88, Zhu — who also received the Hundred Flowers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 — vividly remembers being invited by former premier Zhou Enlai to dance with him during the ceremony. Established in 1962 under Zhou's advocacy, the awards have since become China's oldest film honors.

"...Throughout my life, I have never stopped learning or striving to move forward," Zhu said.

One of the highlights of the opening ceremony was a dance performance by actress Liu Haocun, who, dressed in a red gown, recreated iconic scenes from classic films spanning several decades, including The Red Detachment of Women (1961), Little Flower (1980) and A Little Red Flower (2020).

The ceremony also featured actress Li Sitong and actor Wang Yantong, stars of Dear You — one of the highest-grossing films of 2026 — performing a duet that reminded audiences of their acclaimed portrayals of a Chaoshan laborer working overseas and his close friend.

Wang said classic films are "like letters written to us by our predecessors — every word, every line should be cherished." Li thanked audiences for their support, saying: "Cinema is truly magical. It can bring thousands of people together in a single beam of light, sharing the same resonance."

According to the organizers, the event will also screen more than 70 films at 13 cinemas, 10 outdoor venues and multiple public cultural spaces across Beijing, showcasing the achievements of Chinese filmmaking while enriching the city's summer cultural offerings.