Last week the move “Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen” opened in theaters all around China.  I watched in envy as groups in Shanghai, including CNReviews and Shanghaiist, organized viewing parties to enjoy the opening.  Soon enough, I told myself, the pirated DVD would make its way into our local stores and I would be able to enjoy the movie in the comfort of my home.  I was preparing myself for another summer of exciting blockbusters displayed on a small 21″ TV.

Early Friday morning, however, I awoke to find an exciting email informing me…nay, beckoning me to enjoy movies as they were meant to be seen: on a wide screen surrounded by speakers, sitting in a chair with coke and popcorn in hand.

Somehow a friend of ours happened to notice that opening weekend for the Transformers film would be shown in English with Chinese subtitles and thankfully rushed to tell us.  Our city theater, not even a year old, rarely screened Hollywood films and this was the first one to ever be shown in English.  The fact that it would be in English was not purposely for our benefit but we were sure to take advantage of it.

Our tickets were assigned seats, a concept which as a US citizen I am completely unfamiliar with, so we arrived in the theater 10 minutes early (a perk of assigned seating).  Tickets were 40 RMB each (US$5.80) while popcorn was 10 RMB (US$1.50) and a bottle of Coke was the usual 3 RMB (US$.40).  Not expensive, but I wouldn’t call it cheap, either.  The inside of the theater looked identical to what I am used to in the States and the quality of the movie was as I had hoped.

Unlike the Shanhai screening, we were definitely the only foreign faces in the entire theater, but that was no matter.  We got to see a movie.  In English.

Scratch another item off the list of “Things that make me want to live in a big Chinese city even though I love my small-town Xinjiang“.