娱乐英语新闻:Tangshan watches "Aftershock" with apprehension, respect

TANGSHAN, Hebei, July 12 (Xinhua) -- As director Feng Xiaogang brought his latest film "Aftershock" to Tangshan for the world premiere Monday, residents of the city scarred by the devastating earthquake 34 years ago had mixed feelings about "reliving" the catastrophe.

More than 240,000 people perished when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the underdeveloped north China city on July 28, 1976, a time when a radio would cost an ordinary worker four months wages and an electric fan was considered a symbol of family wealth.

About two-thirds of the premiere's 15,000 people in the audience were sitting in chairs on the grass at Tangshan Stadium, wearing blue or orange T-shirts handed out to them by sponsors.

"Tangshan moves the world," said the words on the back of the T-shirts, which were believed to be in Feng's handwriting.

The epic, costing more than 100-million-yuan (about 15 million U.S. dollars), is being screened in IMAX format at Tangshan Stadium. The premiere, which opened at 7:30 p.m., will last for more than four hours.

During the 130-minute film, many in the audience kept wiping tears away with handkerchiefs provided by sponsors.

The movie left no dry eyes in test screenings during which sponsors had to provide tissues for audiences.

"This time, we would hand out handkerchiefs, as we thought there might not be enough tissues, which are also not environmental friendly," said Xiong Guoxiang, a culture official of Tangshan city, Monday earlier.

"The audience can keep them as souvenirs of the premiere," he said.

Though assured by audiences at test screenings in other Chinese cities, the 52-year-old director was still nervous about Monday's premiere.

"I am looking forward to, but also nervous about the premiere because how the Tangshan people feel about this film will mean a lot to us. We really hope they like it," said Feng late last week.

Monday afternoon, Feng, along with his crew, laid flowers in front of the Tangshan Earthquake Memorial Wall. The 300-meter-long black marble wall, also called the "wailing wall" of China, bears the names of all the earthquake victims.

The 1976 quake is believed to be one of the deadliest natural disasters of the 20th Century.

Some survivors believe the film is a proper tribute to the dead, but others fear the experience will just revive old traumas.

Liu Qiubin, 35, was only a year old when he lost all seven members of his uncle's family to the quake.