Ayoubi says the two countries, both with long histories and resourceful filmmakers, can work together to give moviegoers in China and Iran a chance to know each other better, and take advantage of the two large movie markets, the Chinese newspaper Guangming Daily reported.

"There are reportedly tens of thousands of Iranian youth now practicing Chinese martial arts, which means a movie about the subject is quite likely to win their hearts," Shen says.

Jointly financed by the Chinese studio ShineWork Media and Iran's Farabi Cinema Foundation, work on Way to Shaolin was started during the 2015 Fajr International Film Festival.

Set in present-day Iran and China, the tale is about a young Iranian's journey to learn Shaolin kung fu, one of China's oldest martial arts.

The first version of the script was completed recently and a hunt for the cast is now on. Shen, also the founder of ShineWork, says shooting for the film will begin later this year and the budget for the film is around $10 million (9.2 million euros).

While China's booming film market is seeing a rising number of coming-of-age comedies, Way to Shaolin is an action comedy.

The Shaolin Temple in Central China's Henan province, hailed as the cradle of Chinese martial arts, will provide guidance on the action's choreography and also locations for the movie, Shen says.

"Most foreigners who want to learn Chinese wushu (kung fu) usually seek out the Shaolin Temple. If you visit the temple, you'll see people from different ethnicities and countries practicing there," he says.

Some Chinese movie fans tell China Daily that they would be keen to see a Sino-Iran movie because Iran is a "mysterious" country for them.

Zhang Shaohe, an avid moviegoer from Beijing, says: "Chinese theaters are now dominated by Hollywood films. So, it will be cool to see a title featuring a kung fu hero from a different culture."