With a hamburger in one hand and a computer mouse in the other, the young people who are focusing on computer screens seem no different from video-game players in an Internet cafe.

"They are the core of our competitiveness," one studio manager said. "They can learn the skills of using the newest software in the industry in two to three years from our master tutors from the United States. Then they can work on their own."

Wang Fei, manager assistant of Huallywood, said: "The main advantages of foreign studios in the digital film industry are their software. We are developing our own software. The young people trained and working in foreign companies will play a big role in helping China catch up. South Korea is strong in this field just because of its huge input in developing its own software and young talent."

According to the government plan, Huallywood will realize an annual production value of 20 billion yuan by 2017, when it will have 500 film industry enterprises and 30,000 to 50,000 employees.

Although the production value last year was only about 2 billion yuan, both Yan and Shi are confident Huallywood will soon enter a period of rapid growth. The national administration of film industry named Huallywood a national digital film industrial park, the second of its kind after the digital industrial park in Beijing's Huairou county.

But the Huairou studio is owned by a state-owned film production group and mainly offers services for SOE film production firms. Huallywood, on the other hand, welcomes all kinds of film producers regardless of their ownership.

Huallywood is still expanding and will become an international film industrial base for shooting, production, publishing and trade.

"I am happy to see more and more locals visit our film industrial park. They like the bookstores, cafes, bars, museums, restaurants and studios, all of which are related to films and artistic works. Serving the people is what the cultural industry is all about," Shi said.

liyang@chinadaily.com.cn