Coming from the ultra-modern megalopolis of Shanghai,
nobody would believe that a four-hour bus ride through eight-
lane expressways, followed by a bumpy, mostly unpaved road
would lead to the Chinese version of Hollywood. Hengdian,
a city of around 200,000 people in the eastern part of Zhejiang
Province is where, astonishingly, around 20 percent of all
Chinese movies and TV series are filmed.
“In the 20 years since filming activities started, some 1,800
titles have been produced here, including big hits such as
Zhang Yimou’s Hero and Hollywood’s The Mummy: Tomb of
the Dragon Emperor,” Hengdian Group’s spokesman Zeng
Yuling says. “At any given time, up to 40 stories can be taking
shape in our hundreds of sets. Last year alone, 250 directors
worked in the city, where more than 50,000 people are
registered as actors.”
It soon becomes clear that Hengdian is no ordinary city.
In fact, its architecture seems tailor-made for movie sets.
Its buildings form a collective of 5,000 years of Chinese history:
palaces from every dynasty, which once allowed former
emperors to entertain concubines without the interruption
of anti-corruption campaigns; lavish European colonial-era
mansions, which once harboured gangsters and libertine
women; the cobblestone streets where Kuomintang flags were
not banned, where atrocities committed by Japanese imperialopening page, top
Workers prepare for
a shoot at one of
many spaces where
companies rent out
technical equipment
bottom (left to right)
A man dressed as a
security officer; Mi Wei,
one of the 50,000 actors
in Hengdian trying to
break into the industry;
a 17-year-old extra for
the film War Against
Bandits; actress Jadie
Lynn on the set of The
Punisher
above A Victorian-era
building replica is
prepared for a film set
in Hengdiantop An artisan
produces ancient-
looking furniture at one
of the 700 film industry
companies in Hengdian