Chinese crosstalk artist Jiang Kun (L) and China Central Television host Dong Qing chair the kickoff ceremony for a documentary about the May 12 earthquake in Beijing on Wednesday, May 28, 2008. [Photo: ent.sina.com.cn]

A documentary about the May 12 earthquake will be shot in Wenchuan County in southwestern China's Sichuan Province from June 5 to 25 this year.

Chinese website Sina reports that a kickoff ceremony was held in Beijing at 14:28 p.m. on Wednesday.

More than one hundred Chinese entertainers have expressed their willingness to join the documentary without pay.

Hong Kong television comedian Dicky Cheung said, "We are not afraid of danger and hardship during the shooting process because we are Chinese!"

The report says some staff members rushed to the quake-hit areas as early as on May 13 to record the touching screens there.

Sixteen screenwriters urgently worked days and nights and only used five days to complete the script.

On May 23, Jiang Xiaomei, executive producer of the documentary, arrived in Sichuan to prepare for the formal kickoff.

The documentary, with five directors, will finish shooting in twenty days. This is the first time that such a powerful work will be completed in such a short period of time in China's television history.