Hollywood's mix of kung fu and giant pandas is a hit in China

Getting Kung Fu Panda to the silver screen in China took the patience of a martial arts master, but the animated Hollywood take on Shaolin high jinks has got everybody kung-fu fighting in the ancestral home of the giant panda. Kung Fu Panda , which opned on 20 June, passed the 100-million-yuan (£7.4m) threshold in the box offices at Chinese cinemas this week, a major milestone for a Hollywood film that was always going to be controversial in the home of kung fu. By Wednesday, the amusing tale about an overweight panda-cum-noodle chef who aspires to be a kung fu master had taken in 110 million Chinese yuan (£8.1m). Audiences in a Beijing cinema were particularly enthusiastic about the performances of the Chinese action star Jackie Chan and the American-born actress Lucy Liu but Jack Black, who voices the main character, Po,... [read full story]