An official from China's film industry has recently said that in five years, every Chinese is expected to go to the cinema at least once a year.

Han Sanping, president of the China Film Group Corporation, made the remarks on Friday while visiting the Communication University of China in Beijing.

Han said that China's film industry is now developing in the fast lane, with total revenue from the box office reaching 2.6 billion yuan, or 340 million U.S. dollars, in 2006.

However, most of the earnings came from large cities, Han pointed out, whilst people in medium-sized cities and rural areas don't have a chance to go to cinemas.

In response the government has set plans to improve the industry through a tripartite approach; targeting each market with different method.

More commercial cinemas will be opened in big cities. In Beijing, for example, the number of cinema theaters will increase by 26 to 100 by the end of 2007.

Digital cinemas with smaller screens will be established in medium-sized cities. "Lower ticket prices will attract people in these places to the digital cinemas," said Han.

Those in rural areas use to watch films for free, in accordance with government policy. But film companies have not shown much interest in nonprofit projects. In the future, each film shown in a rural area will feature 10-minute ads, which is expected to change corporate attitudes.