'Star Wars' Event Sees Stormtroopers on the Great Wall; Film Set for January Release in China

This Tuesday, Disney began revving up Chinese fans for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, ahead of the film's primary release on December 18, and its China release in January. Two hundreds lucky fans, some dressed as Imperial Royal Guardsmen, gathered at the Juyongguan Great Wall, where organizers had arranged 500 replicas of Stormtroopers, Reuters reported. Imagine George Lucas-like terracotta warriors, massed on the Great Wall. Amazing.

The occasion was to mark the release of a new trailer for the film, the seventh in the Star Wars saga, and the first to feature the initial three films' original cast in 32 years. The film will officially be known in Chinese as "星球大战: 原力觉醒," Xing Qiu Da Zhan: Yuan Li Jue Xing. It's a pretty literal translation.

Chinese fans can expect the high-anticipated episode to be released in China in January, the first Star Wars film to play in Chinese theaters. Although Chinese movie fans are keen on films that make significant use of CGI and technological themes, Western science fiction of the 1970s and 1980s has not taken hold in the same way.

The official Chinese-language website for Star Wars can be found here. Catch the official trailer above.

Early ticket sales in the United States broke IMAX records, at more than USD 6.5 million, surpassing first day sales for The Dark Knight Rises, Avengers, and Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Chinese cinemagoers can also anticipate the release of Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 this year on November 22, if that's a thing for anyone.

In the mean time, bone up on some Chinese Star Wars Geek Speak by practicing the names of a few characters and key terms in Mandarin (for more, see the website starwarsfans.cn):

Anakin Skywalker: 阿纳金·天行者 (a na jin · tian xing zhe)
Boba Fett: 波巴·费特 (bo ba · fei te)
C-3PO: C-3PO (C-3PO)
Chewbacca: 丘巴卡 (qiu ba ka)
Darth Vader: 达斯·维德 (da si · wei de)
Greedo: 格里多 (ge li duo)
Han Solo: 汉·索洛 (han · suo luo)
Jabba the Hutt: 赫特人贾巴 (xia ti ren jia ba)
Jar Jar Binks: 加·加·宾克斯 (jia · jia  · bin ke si)
Jedi: 绝地 (jue di)
Lando Calrissian: 兰多·卡瑞辛 (lan duo · ka rui sen)
lightsaber: 光剑 (guang jian)
Luke Skywalker: 卢克·天行者 (lu ke · tian xing zhe)
Millennium Falcon: “千年隼号” (qian nian sun hao)
Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi : 欧比-旺(本)·克诺比 (ou bi · wang  · ke nuo bi)
Padmé Amidala: 帕德梅·阿米达拉 (pa de mei · a mi da la)
Princess Leia Organa: 莱娅·奥加纳·索洛公主 (lei ya · ao jia na · su luo gong zhu)
R2-D2: R2-D2 (R2-D2)
Sith: 西斯 (xi si)
stormtroopers: 冲锋队 (chong feng dui)
The Empire: 帝国 (di guo)
Wookiee: 伍基人 (wu ji ren)
Yoda: 尤达 (yo da)

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Photos: ent.ifeng.com