Director Gu Changwei (L2) and his wife also actress, Jiang Wenli(R1).

The 9th Shanghai International Film Festival opened on Saturday, drawing Hollywood stars to the China's financial capital.

Jackie Chan, Nicole Kidman, Luc Besson, Andie MacDowell and Liam Neeson were among those lined up at the Shanghai Concert Hall.

Also among those walking the red carpet was 29-year-old star of Chinese mainland fame Zhou Xun, talented actress and director Xu Jinglei, and Taiwan top model Lin Chihling.

Oscar winning director Ang Lee attended the festival's brief opening, as he was given the Best Contribution Award for a Chinese film abroad.

The opening ceremony also included a screening of the love story "The White Countess," written by Kazuo Ishiguro and directed by James Ivory, about a blind American diplomat and a Russian refugee living in 1930s Shanghai.

Seventeen films vie for this year's Golden Goblet--the festival's top prize. Among those on the shortlist are the two Chinese candidates, "The Music Box," by late Shanghai director Chen Yifei, and "The Forest Ranger," directed by Qi Jian.

The film festival also commemorates the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in a 1921 meeting that took place just a few minutes' walk from the hall where the festival opened.

Editor: Donald