CHINOISERIE

A Chinese state TV network and an American production company are collaborating on a feature film about ancient China’s first emperor, Emperor Chin, the man who united the far-flung country more than 2,000 years ago, it was announced in Beijing on Tuesday. China International Television Corp., a division of the state-run China Central Television, and Lumina Productions of Los Angeles on Tuesday signed an agreement on production of “China: The First Emperor,” a project expected to cost between $20 million and $30 million and boasting a cast of thousands. Filming is to begin next fall, with a release date of late 1990. . . . In an unrelated announcement in the United States, plans were unveiled Monday afternoon for a 10-week North American tour this spring of “The Imperial Bells of China.” Replicas of the historically significant 2,400-year-old instruments will be used on the tour. The show, performed by a 61-member troupe re-creating music and dances that originated with earliest emperors, is scheduled to begin its tour April 6 in Washington and conclude June 6-7 at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.