China's "Oscars" to be held in Hangzhou

The 15th Golden Rooster and Full Blossom Film Festival will begin Wednesday in Hangzhou.

The film festival, organized by the China Film Association, will feature nearly 40 foreign films and 40 local films. The movies include "The Myth," which stars Jackie Chan; "Fearless," which stars Jet Li; Zhang Yimou's "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" and the Andrew Lau and Alan Mak co-directed "Confessions of Pain."

The Golden Rooster and Full Blossom Awards are the Chinese film industry's top honors. This year will mark the first time that it will be open to actors and directors from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and Tony Leung are among the first Hong Kong actors to vie for the Best Actor Award. Hong Kong directors Stephen Chow, Benny Chan and Stanley Tong are nominated along with Chinese mainland directors Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Yimou in the Best Director category.

The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, 28 October.