Zhang Yimou's new film "The Love of the Hawthorn Tree" will open in Chinese cinemas on September 16, the director's producing partner Zhang Weiping has announced.

The film will join a blockbuster-filled September, competing with Andrew Lau's "Legend of the Fist: the Return of Chen Zhen", John Woo's "Reign of Assassins" and Tsui Hark's "Detective Dee".

"The Love of the Hawthorn Tree", based on a popular novel of the same name, tells a poignant love story set in the 1970s.

Nineteen-year-old Zhou Dongyu, a little-known actress, plays the lead role.

The film marks Zhang Yimou's comeback to the art-house genre after such commercial attempts as "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "A Simple Noodle Story".