China's first 4D movie is a 15-minute science documentary about monkeys but is groundbreaking, nonetheless.

The 4D movie goes by the title "The Golden Monkey." It's China's first home-made documentary-style 4D science film and was produced by Shanghai's Science and Technology Museum and Media Group.

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The producers said say The Golden Monkey is their answer to western films that dominate all of the IMAX and other special-effects science movies.

This movie about endangered wild monkeys in Hubei Province lasts only 15 minutes but took a 16-person production team a month to shoot and cost CNY 2 million.

In a 4D movie, a theater is equipped with moving seats, artificial wind, odors and other interactive devices that give audiences a more realistic feel of the movie.

"I used to be quite obsessed with documentaries on the Discovery Channel and other foreign documentaries," said Xu Wei, a producer of The Golden Monkey.

"Now we have our own movie about our own endangered animals. Several foreign countries have expressed interest in our film and footage. I know one Australian company is planning to import the movie."

The Science Museum has Shanghai's biggest special movie theater. It has shown some 20 IMAX and 4D science movies since 2001 but almost these movies were imported. Museum officials want to cut costs, hence their preference for locally made 4D films.

Importing a foreign-made IMAX science film means the museum has to pay an annual rental of over US$100,000. The cost of importing two such movies is the equivalent of making a 4D movie in China. 

Tagsmovie, monkeys, 4D