Hengdian World Studios

Hengdian World Studios
LocationDongyang, Zhejiang, China
Coordinates29°10′45″N 120°17′53″E / 29.179068°N 120.298083°E / 29.179068; 120.298083
StatusOperating
Opened1996 (1996)
OwnerHengdian Group
ThemeFilm Studios and Theme Parks
Websitewww.hengdianworld.com/en/

Hengdian World Studios (Chinese: 横店影视城; pinyin: Héngdiàn Yǐngshìchéng) is a film studio located in Hengdian, a Chinese town in the city of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province. It is one of the largest film studios in the world.[1] The movie studio is operated by the privately owned Hengdian Group founded by Xu Wenrong. Xu turned acres of farmland in central Zhejiang into one of the largest movie studios in Asia. Construction began in the mid-1990s and has been ongoing ever since with the possible recent addition of the replica of the Old Summer Palace.[2] A film about extras working at the studio, I Am Somebody, was released in China in 2015.[3][4]

A real-sized replica of Qin Imperial Palace at Hengdian World Studios
A scene of a drama filming at Hengdian World Studios

Studio

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The studio’s sets are free for film crews; the studio makes returns on the hotels, restaurants, equipment and costumes.[5] The studio consists of 30 outdoor shooting bases and 130 indoor studio sets, with a total area of up to 330 ha. and building areas of 495,995 square meters.[6] In addition to its huge scale, the studio also has several records which includes:

  1. Largest Indoor Buddha Figure in China.
  2. Largest Scale Indoor Studio.
  3. Highest number of Films and Teleplay Shoots as of 2005.[citation needed]

One of the studio's largest buildings is the Imperial Palace Building built in the Early Chinese Dynasty style in the Qin and Han periods. That area is still frequently used to shoot movies based on these eras. The director Zhang Yimou used this building as the backdrop for the Emperor Qin's palace for his 2002 movie Hero.[7] A Hong Kong TVB drama serial titled A Step into the Past which tells the story of the First Qin Emperor also used the same building as the main backdrop. The studio was also used to film The Forbidden Kingdom, the first on-screen collaboration between actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li.[8] In addition, it was also used for the filming of the popular Korean drama serial Empress Ki. More than 1,200 movies and TV shows have been shot there, including Ang Lee's Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon;[9] the Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which is Hollywood co-produced using sets in the Studio;[10] live-action Mulan (2020 film) released on Disney+ on September 4, 2020 in the US.[11]

History

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In 1996, Guangzhou Street Scenic Area, the first film and television shooting base, was built to shoot the film Opium War by director Xie Jin.[12]
In 1997, the King of Qin Palace scenic spot was constructed.
In 2000, its all scenes are declared free of rent.[13]
In 2004, Hengdian Film and Television Industry Experimental Zone was established as China's number one national film and television industry experimental zone.[14]
In 2010, Hengdian World Studios was listed as a national AAAAA level Scenic Spot.[15]

Visitor attendance

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In additional to being a film studio, Hengdian World Studios has also become a tourist attraction, with many of its large sets opening to visitors.

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
10.9 million [16] 11.77 million[17] 12 million[18] 13.8 million[19] 15.18 million[20] 15.77 million[21] 16 million[22] 19 million[23] 20 million[24]

Film and television

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It has been reported that around 70 percent of period Chinese television shows and films are being shot at Hengdian World Studios every year.[25]

Film

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TV series

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Select attractions

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Attraction Type
Old Guangzhou Street and Old Hong Kong Street Scenic spot

Shooting base
Live show/performance

The Palace of Emperor Qin Scenic spot

Shooting base
Live show/performance

Palace of Ming and Qing Dynasties Scenic spot

Shooting base
Live show/performance

Qing Ming Shang He Tu Scenic spot

Shooting base
Live show/performance

The Dream Bund Scenic spot

Shooting base
Live show/performance

New Yuanmingyuan Scenic spot

Shooting base
Live show/performance

Dream Valley Scenic spot

Amusement park

Notes

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  1. ^ Maggie Lee (June 17, 2015). "Film Review: 'I Am Somebody'". variety.com. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  2. ^ Remaking China's 'Garden of Perfect Splendor' - World Blog - msnbc.com
  3. ^ Maggie Lee (June 17, 2015). "Film Review: 'I Am Somebody'". variety.com. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  4. ^ 我是路人甲 (2015). movie.douban.com (in Chinese). douban.com. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  5. ^ The world’s largest film studio isn’t in the US but in China and is one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore takes a look. "Is ‘Chinawood’ the new Hollywood?", BBC. Retrieved on 2014-10-10.
  6. ^ Hengdian World Studios, Yiwuen.com
  7. ^ Stephen Short and Susan Jakes. "Making of a Hero", TIME Asia. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
  8. ^ Arthur Jones "Chan, Li's 'Kingdom' coming soon", Variety.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-06
  9. ^ China's Alibaba Pictures, Hengdian Studios to Form Film, TV Joint Venture, hollywoodreporter.com
  10. ^ The world’s largest film studio isn’t in the US but in China and is one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore takes a look. "Is ‘Chinawood’ the new Hollywood?", BBC. Retrieved on 2014-10-10.
  11. ^ Disney’s new live-action retelling of the classic tale was filmed in China and New Zealand "Inside the Rich and Timeless Sets of Mulan", Architectural Digest. Retrieved on 2020-09-04.
  12. ^ "Studio City". The New Yorker. Event occurs at 2013-4-15.
  13. ^ "Heng Dian World Studios". travelchina1. Event occurs at 2018-12-07. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  14. ^ "Hengdian World Studios, Jinhua". Chinadaily. Event occurs at 2018-12-19.
  15. ^ "Hengdian World Studios". Tourzj.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  16. ^ "今年横店影视城游客数量突破1090万人次". Chinadaily. Retrieved 2011-12-23.
  17. ^ ""西游"意外捧红群演四大妈 成横店明星商演六位数". People's Daily. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  18. ^ "2013横店影视城接待游客1200万". People's Daily. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
  19. ^ "China's Movie Studio Tycoon Xu Wenrong Opens Summer Palace Replica Theme Park". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  20. ^ "浙中小镇横店的"造梦记"". Chinanews. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  21. ^ "央视揭秘浙江横店". nbd. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  22. ^ "解密影视小镇横店". Sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-09-29.[permanent dead link‍]
  23. ^ ""中国影视梦工厂"成就的三个梦想". 浙江在线. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  24. ^ "Rebuild the Old Summer Palace to its former glory? Chinese relics bureau says no". Ecns.cn. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  25. ^ "Hengdian 'film city' eyes comeback after brief dip". China Daily. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
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