Dubbed as the Hollywood of China, Hengdian Film and Television City (橫店影視城) has become the world’s largest outdoor film and television shooting base, as well as China’s only “national film and television experimental zone”. Built in 1996, Hengdian spans across 2,500 acres in what was once a quiet farming village nestled in the hills of Zhejiang Province, in Eastern China. Since then, Hengdian, has undergone numerous transformations from a single film base to a large-scale and comprehensive film and television base as well as integrating tourism, leisure and sightseeing. The China National Tourism Administration has rated Hengdian with the highest national tourist attraction of 5A-level among other domestic film and television shooting bases for its heavy cultural heritage and unique historical scenes. It is only in Hengdian where a life-sized replica of the Forbidden City can be seen. Since the filming of the historical blockbuster movie “The Opium War ” in 1996, Hengdian Film and Television City has hosted and filmed more than 4,000 episodes of film and television dramas by the end of 2003.
The rise of the film and television industry in China has promoted the rapid development of Hengdian leisure and tourism. The entire Hengdian Film and Television City is divided into areas with different functions and displays from various aspects such as different styles, dynasties, historical cultures, and residential customs. Wandering around the entire Hengdian Film and Television City, transports you to a different historical dynasty experiencing the prosperity and culture of different dynasties. Hengdian houses 6 different themed hotels, over 12 themed scenic areas, as well as various world class performing arts theatre and entertainment. Not only that, Hengdian also offers its tourist personalized service such as acting in short films and dressing up various historical costumes.
In recent years, numerous and well loved historical dramas have been filmed in Hengdian, such dramas are :
Story of Yanxi, The Empress of China, The Untamed
Arsenal Military Academy, Ashes of Love & Nirvana in Fire
As Hengdian celebrated its 20th anniversary last 2016, it has since then become a representative symbol of China’s film and television cultural industry. It has received more than 1,700 films and over 100 million tourists. As of 2017, a total of 2,155 Chinese and foreign film and television works that have been filmed in Hengdian.
