A Chinese film festival that will travel the length and breadth of Britain was announced Wednesday in Manchester.

Manchester Airport, along with Chinese company Hainan Airlines, is launching the festival to celebrate movies and culture from China.

Each event is free of charge, and everyone that attends will go into a competition to win a pair of flights to Beijing direct with Hainan Airlines.

Starting in Manchester on Feb 22, the Chinese film festival will run until April 11 and take place in 12 British cities. Films being shown include Hero, Operation Mekong and Call of Heroes.

A spokesman at Manchester Airport said "Hainan Airlines started its direct service from Manchester to Beijing four times a week in June last year, and the festival has been arranged to showcase the vibrant culture of China, which thanks to the route, is much closer and accessible for British residents."

The route makes Manchester the only airport outside of London with a direct service to the Chinese mainland, taking just 10 hours.

Patrick Alexander, head of marketing at Manchester Airport, said "We are pleased that Hainan Airlines are headline sponsors of Manchester Airport's first ever film festival, where we will showcase Chinese culture to a range of people across the UK."

"Since the start of our direct service to Beijing, China is now within touching distance of so much more of the UK population," the airport official added.

The festival will extend to London, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leicester, Preston, Birmingham, Nottingham as well as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast.

Each of the screenings will be free. And there will be competitions among viewers for chances to win flights from Manchester to Beijing.

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