Photo: Xu Liuliu/GT

China will release international awards covering areas of cultural exchange which include films and TV series, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, according to a press conference on Saturday in Beijing.

Hosted by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Sichuan Provincial People's Government, the Golden Panda Awards will be held every two years and permanently based out of Sichuan. The first event will be held in Chengdu from September 19 to 20.

"Chinese renowned director Zhang Yimou will be the chairman of the jury," said Zhang Hong, a deputy director of the office of the Organizing Committee of the First Golden Panda Awards on Saturday.

The Golden Panda Awards is an international communication award that demonstrates the concept of community with a shared future, rather than a professional film and television award. In terms of the composition of the judges, the number of foreign judges will be no less than 40% of the judging panel, which also demonstrates the internationality and openness of the Golden Panda Awards.

Aiming to be an international grand event to deepen cultural exchanges and promote mutual learning among different civilizations, the Golden Panda Awards opens to excellent film and television works that "demonstrate the common values of all mankind and the common aesthetic pursuit. Through the events, the world can get closer to China, let China embrace the world and better carry out cultural exchanges and mutual learning."

Photo: Xu Liuliu/GT

The First Golden Panda Awards has four categories: film, TV series, documentary and animation with three main activities Night of Golden Panda, Golden Panda International Cultural Forum and Golden Panda Gala, as well as three supporting events from visiting events, public film screening and new exhibitions.

Wu Weishan, director of National Art Museum of China shared highlights of the awards' visual designs from its logo, mascots to trophy.

The logo of the Golden Panda Awards was designed by the team of Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, as the panda forms the main body, being incorporated with Tai Chi elements. It has a strong visual impact and expresses the interaction and exchange and mutual learning between different cultures. The trophy was designed by the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. The overall shape is a cute panda engraved on the top of bamboo joints, which implies the meaning of steadily rising quality at each award.

"The golden lining of the outline of the Golden Panda looks like the panda is wearing a golden halo in the rising sun, which echoes the core value of the Golden Panda Awards," Wu told the Global Times on Saturday.

A total of 90 films and TV series selected from 7,024 pieces by artists of 104 countries and regions like the US, India and Iran, have been nominated for the next stage, which is set to start at the middle of September, said Ren Zhonglun, a jury member for the First Golden Panda Awards and also vice chairman of the China Film Association.

With the panda a cultural symbol and films and TV series as a carrier, the Golden Panda Awards builds a platform for mutual learning and cultural exchange among civilizations, showcasing the diversity of world's civilizations , said Gao Zhongwei, the other deputy director of the office of the Organizing Committee of the First Golden Panda Awards.

Chinese mainland now has two international film festivals in Beijing and Shanghai respectively yet.