Asian Geographic 2017

Hengdian wants to cash in, and it has everything to

succeed. “Three decades ago, this was just farmland where

people even had trouble surviving,” Zeng explains. “Then,

the government decided to follow a different development

path and chose to attract the booming film industry, rather

than building manufacturing facilities. They created all the

infrastructure and today, still charge no fees for shooting here,

because the authorities believe that it creates jobs and brings

revenue through taxes levied on the service industry.”

Almost 300 studios have established representative offices

in Hengdian, and around 700 companies make up the fabric

of businesses supporting the industry. There are furniture

manufacturing artisans, made-to-order imperial costume

companies, vintage car collectors who rent out their vehicles,

and huge warehouses specialising in all kinds of equipment.

Unsurprisingly, the business also attracts many young

actors looking to make their fortune. Sadly, as the 2015 film

I Am Somebody showed, most fail miserably. Zhang Yiguo

knows that well. Himself an actor, he owns a representation

agency in the centre of town, and receives scores of new

applicants every day, with many leaving daily, too.

The walls of his office are full of casting photographs

showcasing men and women with broad smiles and dramatic

frowns. “Most will barely survive as extras, because they can

just hope for a character with a sentence or two,” Yiguo says,

explaining: “There are certain conditions to be met. First, you

need to speak perfect Mandarin. Then, you better be beautiful

or so ugly that nobody can take your part. Connections help

a lot, and you must be patient. Most come from provinces

where dialects give them a strong accent and they hardly

know anyone in the industry.”

Yao Shan is one such aspiring actress. She comes from the

southern province of Guanxi and belongs to the Yao ethnic

minority. “I started as an extra earning just the minimum of

RMB70 [USD10] per day. It was hard to get by,” she recalls.

Then she realised that the skills she attained while

performing as a horse rider in a circus could work in her

favour, and earn her a higher income as a stuntwoman.

Now she earns three to four times her original wage as a stunt

double in action scenes.

top right Director Li

Yonghui runs through

the scenes from The

Punisher TV drama

bottom right

Stuntwoman Yao Shan

(standing) waits with other

actresses on the set of

The Hypnotised Hypnotist

“Three decades ago, this was

just farmland where people

even had trouble surviving”

18.8%

41,179

screens

China accounted for

of worldwide movie ticket sales last year,

compared to 7.5 percent in 2012

2016

2012

China built 1,612 new

cinemas in 2016,

bringing its total to

In 2016, revenue

for international

movies in China

was up 10.9 percent

China clocked up

in movie ticket

revenue in 2016

North America's

box office grew

2.1 percent to hit

China now has

the most cinemas

in the world

usd6.6

billion

usd11.36

billion

34

Top five grossing films

in China in 2016

The Mermaid (China)

526,848,189 USD

Zootopia (US)

Captain America: Civil War (US)

235,591,257 USD

190,429,000 USD

Warcraft (US)

The Monkey King 2 in 3D (China)

220,841,090 USD

185,402,420 USD

China

allows only

34 foreign

films into

the country

every year

China’s movie ticket revenue averaged a yearly growth
of 35 percent for more than a decade. However, in 2016,
China’s movie ticket revenue expanded just 3.7 percent

35% 3.7%

THE CHINA BOX

OFFICE 2016

Data sourced from China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio,

Film and Television (SAPPRFT), comScore and the Hollywood Reporter