Cinema seating

[Junior]

I've read in several textbookish sources that in Chinese cinemas, the odd numbered seats are on one side of the cinema and even seats are on the other side. So, for example, if you bought tickets 7 and 8 of the same row you would not be sitting together, but if you had tickets 6 and 8 you would be next to each other.

The sources where I read this are fairly old and I am wondering whether this is still the case. Can anyone elighten me?

Thanks.

[roddy]

Yep - see this seat-selection page for an example. It's for a theater rather than a cinema, but it's the same idea. Not sure why it's like that though. (edit: And I like the names for the different seating areas - 乐池 and 池座. Never heard those before)

[Junior]

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou!!

The link you gave even answered my next question which was whether seat 1 starts at the edge or in the middle!

[roddy]

In the middle, as you can see - so at least seats 1 and 2 are next to each other.

Anyone got any idea WHY it's like that? I can't see any reason, although I guess it means you can tell how far off the center-line you are by the seat number. Maybe that's why.

[skylee]

Take a look ->

http://ks.cn.yahoo.com/question/1407012313884.html

http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/40457334.html?fr=qrl

The idea seems to be that it facilitates people to find their seats. I don't understand its logic. In HK it is not like this and people have no problem finding their seats.

[zhwj]

This has been the case in practically all of the halls with numbered seats I've been to in my life, in China and elsewhere. It allows ticketholders and ushers to tell at a glance which entrance they should use (odd for one side, even for the other), rather than having to remember ranges of numbers, which could vary considerably if the hall is narrow at the front and opens up in the back. That's probably why numbering starts from the center line, because rows aren't all of the same length.

[gougou]

I guess it's not much of an issue if you go to see a movie, though. When asking for two tickets, they should be more likely to give you 7 and 9 rather than 7 and 8.

[simonlaing]

in the Nanjing theaters the seats are numbers consecutively.

When you buy the tickets they have a picture of the hall and you can select the seats .

(This causes the people who come early to get the middle seats)

Not all the rows were the same length.

I've had several occassion when I had to climb over other seats to get to my seat.

In yunan I went to some DVD cinemas with two person sofas instead of regular seats. I thought it was pretty good.

have fun,

Simon:)