Moving pictures of the past is of reel importance

Moviegoers in China in the 1960s and 1970s will probably still remember watching newsreel being played on the big screen before the main feature began. These short video clips usually featured chairman Mao Zedong, former premier Zhou Enlai, or other leaders, attending to important State affairs.

At a time when TV was not that prevalent among the country's population, this was the main channel for the public to stay informed of current events, especially those pertaining to the nation's governance.

Thanks to the efforts of China Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio, over 400,000 minutes of footage remain - more than 277 days' worth - dating back to the late 1930s' Yan'an, a city in Shaanxi province, which was the national base for the Communist movement back then.