IMAX, Gigantic IMAX

One afternoon during the workweek, I was slacking off when I noticed a colleague had posted a comparison chart of IMAX screens in Beijing. Seeing it completely changed my idea of IMAX—I had no idea IMAX screens could be this huge!

So I decided to spend the weekend checking out the biggest one on the chart: the laser IMAX at the China National Film Museum.

    I finally made it to the weekend, and it was time for my planned IMAX experience at the China National Film Museum. When we entered the museum, the first things we saw on either side were old film projectors. Some were even older than you or me. It was my first time seeing a projector from the 90 era.。

    The main reason for this visit was to experience IMAX, with a look around the museum while we were there. My verdict up front: it’s well worth a visit. I was honestly blown away and saw things I’d never seen before, especially the wraparound screen for the Winter Olympics. That was stunning. As we made our way into the main hall, we noticed a brightly lit room ahead and went straight in. It felt like the fisherman stumbling into the hidden paradise of Peach Blossom Spring—the whole place was made up of screens. Absolutely breathtaking.

    

And the screens kept changing: a forest one moment, an ocean the next. The visual impact was incredible. We wandered along the stairs around the screens, and when we reached the middle, we realized the wraparound screen was working in sync with the screen on the floor. It was so beautiful! Just stunning, genuinely gorgeous, and so seamless that you could barely tell where one screen ended and another began. Loved it.

Looking down from upstairs, I saw all the kids having the time of their lives, running and jumping around. It got me thinking: how many kids like us, who grew up in a small county town, had ever seen anything like this? And for these kids, it might just be part of everyday life. Later, fireworks started playing on the screens, and I then shot a video.

    There was still some time before the movie started, so we wandered through a few other exhibition halls. We found lots of sculptures of different people, which were pretty interesting. See how many you recognize, hahaha.

    After touring the exhibition halls, it was finally time for today’s main event: IMAX! So excited. Before anything else, here’s my ticket.

Maybe because this is a state-run place, the ticket was only 80 yuan. I remember paying over 150 yuan the last time I saw an IMAX movie at a mall, and that screen wasn’t even this big. Still, although the ticket was cheap, the place felt a bit out of the way, and getting there took quite a lot of time and effort, so I’ll have to think twice about coming again. But if it’s Avengers 5, I’ll be here without a second thought, hahaha.

    We’re in! This screen is seriously huge. Incredible.

Of course, I took a photo as soon as we got inside, too.

Then the movie began. It’s hard to put the experience of watching a movie on this screen into words. I really recommend coming and trying it yourself—it’ll absolutely be worth the trip. I also felt that the 3D movies here were brighter than at other theaters, making the experience much better. Nice, very nice. Totally worth it.

    Two hours later, our immersive IMAX experience was over. It really felt amazing. With the bigger screen, I felt like I could see more details in the movie, and my eyes didn’t feel very tired either. One last photo of the museum from the front.

    That wrapped up our day at the film museum. In weather this hot, of course we had to treat ourselves properly! That evening, we tried a newly opened Hangzhou restaurant, and it was really good—especially the Huwei oil-fried shrimp. The flavor had lots of layers, and I loved it. They also gave us three drinks on the house. Really nice. Now it’s time for the photos.

    And just like that, a lovely day came to an end. Tomorrow it’s back to the daily grind. I checked tomorrow’s temperature—not bad. Looks like the bricks I’ll be metaphorically hauling tomorrow won’t be as hot to handle as last week’s.