China’s Huading Film Awards ceremony was held for the first time in the United States on Sunday, with Hollywood celebrities like Halle Berry and Orlando Bloom receiving honors.

    While the Chinese awards are little known in the United States, Western film celebrities understand the importance of the burgeoning* Chinese market and many were present at the event.

    The bilingual show, hosted by Chinese TV personality Olivia Xu and Chinese-American actress Lucy Liu, was held in the city’s Ricardo Montalban Theater and broadcast to millions of viewers across the Chinese-speaking world.

    Winners were chosen by some 80 million members of the Chinese public who participated via surveys and Internet polling, according to the Beijing-based Global Talents Media Group, which has organized the annual awards event since 2007.

    Halle Berry — who plays the role of Storm in the “X-Men” film and won an Oscar in 2002 for her work in “Monster’s Ball” — won the top honor, the Global Icon Award.

    “No one is ready to receive a global icon award,” said Berry. She added that she was “happy for the better interpersonal relationship” between the Chinese public and Hollywood stars.

    Chinese voters chose last year’s “Fast and Furious 6,” starring Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker, as the Best Global Movie of the Year.

    Mexico’s Guillermo del Toro won the top director award for his giant robot-and-monster movie “Pacific Rim” (2013), in which Asian cities and actors are prominent even though the movie was filmed in Canada.

    “China was very important to me as a kid. It captured my imagination with its landscapes,” Del Toro said as he accepted his award.

    Bloom won the Best Global Movie Star Award thanks to his appearance in hits like “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” and “The Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogies.

    (SD-Agencies)