Promotional material for China's new PLA Air Force movie Born to Fly Photo:courtesy of Taopiaopiao

 Known as China's Top Gun and starring Chinese actors Wang Yibo and Hu Jun, new military movie Born to Fly is set to be released in the May Day holidays. The film focuses on the modernization of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force, said the movie's Sina Weibo account on Monday.

The movie looks back at decades of progress the PLA has made in terms of weapons and equipment, as well as the progress of China's military development in modern times.

It follows the lives of test pilots of the PLA Air Force. 

Under the lead of Captain Zhang Ting, a group of test pilots are finally able to participate in testing the most advanced and latest stealth fighters before the public gets a chance to take a close look. Yet they are constantly challenged by their own limits.

China Aviation Industry Corporation and the PLA Air Force have participated in the movie by lending various cutting-edge stealth fighters. Different models such as the J-20, J-16 and J-10C fighter jets will be on the big screens for moviegoers.

The movie was originally set to be screened at the end of 2022 and a trailer was released in August last year.

In the nearly two-minute trailer, the country's most advanced stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20 was presented, along with the story of how Chinese scientists, engineers and military personnel joined together to make the domestic-made jet fighter a reality.

News of the movie has excited fans of the popular actor Wang Yibo, but also the media overseas where many news outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter referred to it as China's version of Top Gun for telling stories about the growth of young pilots.

Born to Fly also presents the background when Chinese scientists and engineers struggled to catch up with the times in stealth jet research and advancement while the country was deeply stuck in a technological blockade.

Famed writer/director Han Han is the executive producer, and popular actors Hu Jun and Zhou Dongyu have also signed on to play starring roles.