China’s largest movie studio is vast, and so is its audience. But filmmakers have to toe the party line
The cameras were rolling, a smoke machine on high. A man in a Qing Dynasty robe struck powerful poses. Stunt doubles in puffy jackets threw slow-motion punches. Off set, rotund actors practiced front flips onto a dusty mat.
Meanwhile, the director, Si Xiaodong, was performing a stunt of his own: directing a film that Chinese audiences would watch, and that Chinese authorities wouldn't censor.
Hengdian movie studios
Matjaz Tancic / For The Times
Si's production, "The Legend of the Tianqiao Performers," is an eight-part series for Chinese state television about folk performers at Beijing's Tianqiao market during the Qing Dynasty, which lasted from the 17th to early 20th centuries. That day in March, Si was shooting the fourth installment, about a large man nicknamed the "King of Silliness" who uses qigong — a traditional breathing and martial arts practice — to break bricks on his stomach.
"Because the government is fighting corruption, we've been told to follow guidelines," Si said. "We shouldn't just show that people are suffering, but show corruption, and that people are suffering because of it. That's why the Tianqiao performers are performing."
He paused. "But we shouldn't focus too much on people suffering."
In China's Hollywood, such deliberations are part of the job.
An aerial view of Hengdian movie studios.
Matjaz Tancic / For The Times
Hengdian World Studios, built on farmland in the 1990s, claims to be the largest outdoor film studio in the world, and the source of an estimated 1,200 Chinese films and TV shows. It has 13 themed shooting areas scattered throughout a nondescript town in southeastern China's Zhejiang province. They include scores of palaces and gardens, a Republican-era city (with several villas, a hospital, a police station and a steam train), and full-scale replicas of the Forbidden City and Old Summer Palace, which was looted and burned by British forces in 1860.
Hengdian is not as central to China's film industry as Hollywood is to the U.S. counterpart, and its dreary town center, low-budget shoots and limited nightlife don't lend themselves to glitz and glamour. It's also not one-of-a-kind — China also has the Shanghai Film Park (which specializes in productions set in 1930s Shanghai), Zhongshan TV and Film City in Guangdong province (home to an "England Scenic Area" and "U.S. Scenic Area"), and the Tongli Shooting Base in Jiangsu province, known for its rivers and lakes.
There's also the real estate conglomerate Dalian Wanda's beleaguered $7.3-billion Wanda Qingdao Studio, once billed as the "first and only filmmaking destination in China meeting international standards." Wanda sold a stake in the studio last year.
Yet Hengdian's enormous scope — and its focus on historical costume dramas — make it central to the Chinese government's efforts to present a specific interpretation of the country's history. Since taking office in 2013, President Xi Jinping has overseen a resurgence of staunch nationalism, calling it the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" and the pursuit of the "Chinese dream." He has cracked down on corruption, muzzled free speech and the media, and entrenched Communist Party control over all aspects of society.
"A lot of things have become more sensitive, especially in terms of film and media," said Stanley Rosen, an expert on Chinese film and politics at USC who has visited Hengdian. "There's no question about it."
Since the early '80s, not long after Mao Tse-tung's death, the Communist Party has relied on sustained economic growth to bolster its legitimacy. But growth is slowing, and Xi is increasingly presenting the party as a guardian and rightful heir to China's "5,000 years of history" — its Confucian traditions, folk arts, historical claims to territory. He's branded any suspicion of the party's preferred narrative as "historical nihilism."
Some topics are entirely off-limits: Mao's great famine of 1959-61; his calamitous Cultural Revolution of 1966-76; skepticism of Beijing's historical claims to minority areas such as Tibet and Xinjiang.
Hengdian's producers and directors understand that their work must reflect Xi's political priorities. In their productions, central authority is sacrosanct; superstition shunned, or at least minimized; themes of national unity and "traditional morality" brought to the fore.
Modern settings can be a minefield. Authorities have banned shows from depicting smoking, adultery, homosexuality and reincarnation. They have warned against glorifying "foreign influence" and pulled foreign shows — even politically innocuous sitcoms such as "The Big Bang Theory" — from TV and streaming websites.
"Do not permit shows to become venues for displaying fame and wealth," said a government dictate from 2016.
And the goalposts are constantly moving. For years, Hengdian was best known for shooting popular anti-Japanese war dramas. The shows, set during the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945, were largely gory, B-movie spectacles, depicting Chinese communist soldiers slaughtering scores of Japanese troops. One Chinese magazine, in 2012, reported that 700 million "Japanese soldiers" had "died" in the studio that year. (The communists, in fact, were barely involved in the war; Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist forces were on the front lines.)
But authorities declared the shows too sensational, and a wave of ensuing restrictions forced directors to seek other outlets. Yet the government has promised support for shows that promote "nationalist values." And Xi frequently champions China's historical achievements — during a speech at the National People's Congress in March, he referenced ancient philosophers, Yuan Dynasty dramas and Ming and Qing Dynasty novels.
So now, Hengdian specializes in ancient history. Most of its productions are soap operas with gaudy costumes and maudlin dialogue. Plots revolve around revenge, thwarted romance, family conflict and imperial intrigue. "They're going back to Tang Dynasty, a high point of Chinese civilization; the Warring States Period; and the Qing Dynasty, when China's territorial expansion was at its greatest," said Rosen.
Hengdian World Studios was built on farmland in the 1990s.
Matjaz Tancic / For The Times
China doesn't have anything like a studio system — these productions are financed by tech companies, real estate firms, state-run television stations and sometimes the actors.
And Chinese audiences are watching. Foreign films are dropping in popularity, as government controls make them tougher to find, and domestic productions become more sophisticated. China's most popular TV show last year was "Advisor's Alliance," a drama about power struggles during the Warring States period of 475–221 BC (it was shot in Hengdian). A runner-up, the documentary series "National Treasure," features A-list Chinese celebrities recounting the stories of ancient artifacts — a stone drum, a large vase, a landscape painting.
Sang Xiaoqing, the CEO of Hengdian World Studios, said that the studio's budget has skyrocketed in recent years, and the firm has started construction on 40 new "high-tech studios" in Hengdian, slated for completion in 2020. "That could facilitate more Hollywood productions shooting here," he said. (Hengdian's productions have found little success abroad.)
He acknowledged that the studio, while privately owned, is subject to government restrictions on content. "When we're producing more serious things, we can't change the basic facts," he said. "We need to research them." Authorities have also capped the number of fantasy dramas involving supernatural elements — time travel, magic — at "about 20 per year."
Yet Hengdian is still vibrant, a constant bustle of countless tourists and about 12,000 actors — young and old, locals and migrants, drifters and dreamers angling for a shot at fame.
About three miles from Sang's downtown office, producer and actress Wan Er frantically darted around a football field-sized set, strewn with autumnal trees and moss-covered boulders, coordinating stunt doubles in a sword fight.
Wan Er, left, in a scene from “Resist Loving the Imperial Concubine 2: The Peerless Yan Shi.”
Matjaz Tancic / For The Times
Wan's internet drama — called "Resist Loving the Imperial Concubine 2: The Peerless Yan Shi," and shot on a budget of $1.2 million — is about three men from northeast China who are transported back to ancient Korea, she explained. One emerges from the time travel as a woman (played by Wan). She sleeps with the emperor, and becomes pregnant. "The emperor wanted me to have an abortion, and I wanted to do it too," Wan said. "But then there was a conflict."
Wan's stunt double, Xie Lirun, a young man (and former professional truck-unloader), stood in for Wan wearing a frilly pink dress and flowing black wig. He said that he used to mostly play soldiers in anti-Japanese war shows, but that work dried up in 2016. Now, he mostly does sword fights. He makes about $50 per day — good money in China. A woman, he said, would make double.
"If there's a really good female double, the price is really high and they feel it's not worth it," he said. "Most female stunt doubles are too feminine and soft. Because you need strength and power for these fight scenes."
Extras on set shooting "The Story of Ming Lan" at Hengdian.
Matjaz Tancic / For The Times
In a replica Northern Song Dynasty village a short ride away, Liu Guanlin, 29, shot "The Story of Ming Lan," a TV drama about a young woman avenging her mother's death (and purging the imperial court of corrupt ministers). Liu, the art director, sat in a gable-roofed watchtower overlooking a street thrumming with robe-clad extras and trundling horse carts. "We try to copy 100% from ancient paintings how ancient people lived — with accurate costumes, even pottery," he said. "We even have a team to make Song Dynasty curtains and tablecloths."
Extras on set shooting "The Story of Ming Lan" in Hengdian.
Matjaz Tancic / For The Times
Working at Hengdian can be hard, said Li Haixiao, a 28-year-old extra on the shoot, as she waited for the cameras to roll. She's been forced to lie down in the snow, playing dead for hours, for about $15 a day.
"But it's really worth it, when others see me acting," she said. "Even if it's a really minor role for one minute. It pays off."
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So basically, we have here a studio for Z-series movies... but bigger than anything in Hollywood...
I, for one, have a great deal of trouble coping with the scale of... China...
LOL. It really isn't as much trouble as you think - of course I'm speaking as a person who's spent more than the last 11 1/2 years in China. Coping with the scale of any large country with any history is not simple. For example, although I've been across Canada from Quebec to British Columbia, I've never been to the Maritime provinces notwithstanding spending the first 69 years of my life in my home country. Of course, China has 5 times the recorded history as Canada (excepting history of the indigenous nations), and I have posted photo essays on NT documenting some of my travels in China. There are many places here I would like to see, but my ability to travel has been slowed by my health.
As for movies, sometimes I watch Chinese historical productions - they are extremely colourful, displays of tradition, and quite over-acted, and it's like wandering through ancient ghost towns as you (Bob) have just done only they're refurbished like new. I really don't give a damn about politics here, which is probably a good thing. One of the favourite stories they have made many different movies of - both short and long, is that of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, and his adventures as written in the Ming dynasty novel "Journey to the West". Virtually every Chinese person knows that story, and I enjoyed reading the English translation of around 2300 pages myself. However, if a person who reads it has not travelled in China and is not familiar with the Chinese traditions and Buddhism (my wife is a Buddhist) they will miss a lot of the significance and cultural references and not have any knowledge of the places through which Sun Wukong travels, but I have been to many of those places and am familiar with them.
Sometimes these days I do watch English language movies (subtitled in Chinese) here. They sometimes show old ones, like 'Pretty Woman', more often newer ones, like 'Sully', and yesterday I quite enjoyed watching a movie which I guess was produced for kids, 'The BFG' - a fantasy that I thought was quite entertaining.
A couple of years ago I posted a photo-essay on the Discovery Group about a museum in an ancient village that depicts the history of the Chinese movie industry that you might find interesting. Hopefully you will not mind my posting the link:
We touristed in China a couple decades ago... and are kinda looking for an opportunity to return. But a tourist visit remains a tourist visit. I envy your... proximity... to the country.
Yeah, they shunt you around, and take you to tourist stores for pearls, or ceramics, etc. that are priced about 3 times their worth. The tour guides get paid for taking you there.
I was struck by a comment made by the guide during a visit to a temple: "This temple is 1500 years old... but it is made entirely of wood... and wood doesn't last. So there's probably not a single piece of the temple that is more than 500 years old."
Having started my travels to China in 1983, I seen many changes in the country and it's scale is vast to say the least.
I was actually caught up in a movie being filmed in Gaungzhou. I was walking from my hotel (White Swan) to our agent office. As I came around a corner the street was filled with hundreds of Chinese protesting something. At first I thought that I was going to be in the middle of something that I didn't want to be. Then I saw a few Chinese dressed in western suits (1930's style) and a couple of guys came running up to me and explained they were making a movie and asked if it was OK to film me and fit me into the movie...Of course I said yes and the filming lasted only a couple of minutes and I was on my way...They did thank me many times..It was interesting to say the least and a lot of fun.
LOL. So you can put on your resume that you have acting experience, you were once a movie extra.
I think that they might have named the movie, ''An Indian in China''....LOL
Why? Were you wearing full headdress? The kinds of headdresses the Chinese wore in historic movies is enough to change the word historical to hysterical.
No headdress but a long braid and red skin...LOL
Red skin, okay, but long braids were not unusual in historical China.
I enjoy watching periodicals and movies about historical China. I have a lot of favorite Chinese actors and actresses. Even some of the modern day projects are very enjoyable.
I also enjoy watching So Korean movies and projects, especially, the historical ones. I've learned a lot about the history, culture and traditions of both countries. The early dynasties of China, Korea and Japan are truly very enlightening. The help to explain a lot about the countries and how they developed over the many centuries.
"Soaps" produced in South Korea go over very big here. They cause the women here to cry a lot.
Don't know about the 'soaps' as I don't have a TV, but, I can watch a lot of movies and episodes projects on the Internet. There are several different sites that provide an assortment of these for Korea, China and Japan, and even some Taiwan projects.
And yeah....there are some really 'sob stories' out there. Plus, I'm learning a bit of the language from hearing the spoken words and seeing the English subs. Very interesting.
Interesting story. I wonder if any of the producers or directors try to 'push the envelope' and what happens if they do? Or do they not push the envelope as they see no reason to? Still, that's quite the facility.