Cinemas and theaters in Luohu district re-opened on July 20.

On July 16, the China Film Administration issued a notice approving this date for cinemas and theaters in the low-risk regions.

The lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic over the past half a year has pushed the entertainment sector led by cinemas to the brink of collapse.

Although the number of tickets that can be sold for each screening is limited to 30 percent of the number of seats, "reopening represents hope for us," said Xu Meimei, deputy general manager of the Shenzhen Theater.

All cinemas and theaters in Luohu have taken all necessary measures to disinfect their facilities before opening as required by the China Film Administration.

Within two hours, many cinemas had sold out their entire ticket allocation for the whole of July 20.

Many of those with tickets said they were excited to see the cinemas and theaters back in business, indicating daily life has taken another step to return to normalcy.

Audiences must book their tickets in advance, have their temperature measured, health code checked and personal information registered for the track and trace program, and ensure their hands are carefully washed and disinfected before entering the cinema.