The upcoming romance movie Book of Love stars Tang Wei (left) and Wu Xiubo.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Xue Xiaolu's latest film, Book of Love, draws inspiration from an old American book. Xu Fan reports.

Helene Hanff's 84, Charing Cross Road has touched many readers over the years with its storyline－a 20-year correspondence between the American author and a London bookseller.

Now, the 1970 book has found an unusual taker in Chinese director Xue Xiaolu.

Xue's new film, Book of Love, which is a sequel to the 2013 Chinese hit Finding Mr Right, is inspired by Hanff.

The film, which opened the recent Beijing International Film Festival, will be released on the Chinese mainland on Friday.

Finding Mr Right, the Chinese equivalent of the American romance Sleepless in Seattle (1993), is the top-grossing romance of all time in Chinese film history.

Tang Wei and Wu Xiubo, who starred in Finding Mr Right, lead the sequel's cast, too.