Starting on Wednesday, CCTV's Movie Channel will broadcast a series of films about Mao Zedong to mark his birth.

Over the past 25 years, the late chairman has been portrayed in as many as 25 movies, in addition to many more TV series.

Most of the productions received exciting responses from theatre-goers and TV viewers, for their loyalty to the history and life of Mao.

He appears even more frequently in TV movies. A rating survey by the Movie Channel shows movies about Mao enjoy a steady 2 per cent of the market, which is regarded as very high for the channel.

According to Wang Xuexin, director of "Mao Zedong and Edgar Snow" and winner of the 2001 Huabiao Award for the best motion pictures, producers and directors are making films about Mao because it makes good commercial sense.

"Film studios and TV producers are now enterprises in the market economy. We shoot such films because we believe there is a demand from the audience and the market," Wang said.

The Movie Channel -- the only national movie channel in the country -- has selected the cream of films about Mao to give viewers a chance to watch them again.

In the coming two weeks of this month, a total of 13 movies in which Mao is the chief protagonist will be aired.

"The movies we select will cover different stages of Mao's eventful life. We hope that they will give viewers a comprehensive understanding of the great man," said Zhu Jingyang from the channel.

In addition, China Central Television's Movie Channel has produced a six-part documentary, "Mao Zedong on the Screen."

In the documentary, many directors and producers of films about Mao, as well as Mao impersonators Zhang Keyao, Gu Yue, Wang Ying and Tang Guoqiang, tell anecdotes about action off screen while shooting Mao films and their own understandings about the great man.

The documentary will be shown from December 23 to 28.

The films scheduled are:

Mao Zedong in 1925, December 17

Mao Zedong and Edgar Snow, December 18

Mao Zedong's Relative by Marriage (Mao Zedong de Qingjia) December 19

Chongqing Talks (Chongqing Tanpan), December 20

Going Down the Zhongshan Mountain (Fengyu Xia Zhongshan), December 21

Mao Zedong and his Son, December 22

A Butterfly Falls in Love with a Flower (Dielianhua), December 23

Kuerban Goes to Beijing, December 24

Yang Kaihui, December 25

The Story of Mao Zedong, December 26

Mount Jinggang, December 27

The Long March (Changzheng), December 27

The Grand Kunlun Mountain (Weiwei Kunlun), December 28

(China Daily December 15, 2003)