As another New Year approaches, a continuous stream of seasonal movies, plays, concerts and books is making "New Year" a permanent fixture in the cultural marketplace.

Director Feng Xiaogang has brought us his new film "A World without Thieves", where two thieves' change their lives in a foolish belief that should be no thieves in the world. It is said to be a fairy tale in modern China, and touches the audience with its New Year message.

The first New Year Film to hit China came from Hong Kong at the end of 1995. The film "Rumble in the Bronx" was shown in many mainland movie theatres and set a box office record of 80 million Yuan.

Two years later, mainland director Feng Xiaogang made his first movie "A Born Coward". It was a big hit and inspired a crop of New Year Films the next year.

Soon after, his "Sorry, Baby", "Be there or be square" and "Cell Phone" all set box office records consecutively, highlighting the commercial motive behind New Year films and attracting more and more businessmen to cash in on this unique genre.
The plot of "A world without thieves" comes from an article in the Chinese journal "Writer" which won a prize at the 8th One Hundred Flowers Awards.

Director Feng had planned to shoot it for two years. Since the first showing domestic box office takings have hit 30 million, which far outstrips "Cell Phone" last year. It is predicted to be the second domestic film to make more than one billion Yuan at the box office after director Zhang Yimou's "The House of Flying Daggers".

Other genres have also got caught up in the New Year festivities. Take the play "Cuihua" as an example. The first day it was shown, audiences flocked into the theater and takings totaled 100 thousand Yuan. It is predicted to surpass the one million mark by New Year's Eve.

While the New Year culture has become common practice, problems have emerged.

The new market has been created so quickly that there is an overflow of products in the same style and the audience's choice is too limited. Many see the New Year market as a potential gold mine but this is not in fact the case unless audiences are convinced by the quality of the work.

In the current climate, veteran filmmaker Huang Xiaoce believes that New Year films must follow a particular rule as commercial goods. The key is to produce market-orientated work. Only movies with substantial content in the right style will attract the audience's attention.

A college professor thinks that the prosperity of the "New Year Culture" is a good thing. Just like the popularity of POP Music in the 1980's, it has not only enriched other genres such as video but has cultivated a large number of dedicated fans. All the same conditions suggest the flourishing of the film market.

Today New Year film "A World without Thieves", hit the domestic box office records. This is bound to boost the whole cultural market.

The explosion of New Year culture should not be unduly criticised. Consumers want to enjoy humorous and intriguing movies during the holidays. It is important that filmmakers cherish the New Year culture and produce as many good movies as possible, rather than just making up the numbers.