Restored classics enjoy screen revival

For example, when the archive was restoring The Eternal Wave, an espionage movie set in the late 1940s, Li recalls that the restorers spent a lot of time and effort to check the historical details, varying from the color of the epaulets on the military uniforms of the Communist Party of China's army to a type of vase at Shanghai's renowned Peace Hotel.

In 2021, The Eternal Wave, which was originally shot and released in black and white, was restored to a 4K version full of color, the first of its kind in China. When the restored version was rescreened across domestic theaters, it earned more than 3.4 million yuan ($493,200), making it an inspirational case for generating financial profits, says Sha Dan, a veteran movie critic.

"The case has provided a good pattern for how to balance the cultural preservation and market usage, thus helping us better preserve old movies and benefit academic research," says Sha.