Le Vision Pictures (Beijing) Co Ltd, one of China's leading private film companies, announced on Tuesday that it had recruited Zhang Yimou, one of China's most famous film directors, as its director and art director.

Zhang has won a number of international awards, and it's been almost a year since he left Beijing New Pictures Co Ltd, which produced movies including The Flowers of War and Under the Hawthorn Tree.

Le Vision Pictures generated 625 million yuan ($102 million) in box office revenue through producing six movies in 2012. The nation's total box office receipts reached 17.07 billion yuan last year.

Zhang Zhao, CEO of the company, said Zhang Yimou was attracted to the company by its focus on new technology. He declined to reveal how much his contract was worth.