The main venue for the festival is the Pingyao Festival Palace, a recently refurbished machine factory which had previously lay abandoned for years.

"It was once the most ragged place within the ancient city walls," Jia says. "However, an international film festival may usher in more work opportunities and a more modern lifestyle here."

He confesses he faced many difficulties trying to organize such a big event in such a small place, far more so than if he had chosen a major city as the location for the festival.

"However, it's worthwhile to give a new image to the province," he says.

In China, Shanxi is often unfairly stereotyped as an old-fashioned central coal-producing province.

"As the film festival opens, you find drivers in Pingyao trying to speak Mandarin, and young people even speaking English," he says. "Changes are taking place."

Jia says the film palace will open its doors in January 2018, and will screen films otherwise overlooked by mainstream cinemas for commercial reasons.

"Who knows? Maybe movie-watching will become another tourist attraction for Pingyao other than visiting the heritage site within a few years," he says.

Contact the writer at wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn