Winning nine Oscars for The English Patient, director Anthony Minghella has been in China to promote the Hollywood blockbuster Cold Mountain. With him was the Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger. They held a news conference on Tuesday in Beijing.

Renee Zellweger and Anthony Minghella proved a big attraction in Beijing. Minghella had his own reasons for targeting the Chinese audience.

Cold Mountain is based on Charles Frazier's best-selling Civil War novel of the same name. It follows the 3,000-mile journey of a soldier, played by Jude Law, on his way home to his sweetheart, played by Nicole Kidman.

Zellweger won an Oscar for her portrayal of a hardy Confederate survivor in this war epic. The film is scheduled for release in China on April 30.

(CCTV.com April 19, 2004)