Xiangshan Movie and Television City becomes a big draw in Ningbo

Inside the Water Curtain Cave.[Photo by Xu Lin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Xiangshan Movie and Television City in Xiangshan county, Zhejiang province, is a big draw for diehard fans of Chinese martial arts films and TVs. They can watch filming, visit the sets and meet their favorite stars. It takes about 50 minutes by car from Ningbo and three hours from Hangzhou to get to the county.

Last year, the studio attracted 1 million visitors, an increase of 99 percent compared with 2012. There are more than 120 such studios in China, but fewer than 10 are still running. We are the fastest-growing one, said Chen Jianyu, director of Ningbo Industrial Zone Management Committee of Film Culture.

The committee is in charge of the studio's planning, investment, promotion and management. It feels like you have time traveled back hundreds of years when you stroll down a street decorated with traditional architecture. Vendors in ancient costumes hawk goods such as meat and vegetables. But if you look carefully, you will find they are merely lifelike props. You also can enjoy yourself in a small special effects studio.

Visitors can create sound effects, like making thunder by swaying a thin steel plate or the pitter-patter of raindrops by shaking a box of soybeans, or dub a classic movie clip. The Water Curtain Cave, an enormous artificial karst cave, was a set for the hit movie Journey to the West from director Zhang Jizhong.

In the novel, Sun Wukong, or Monkey King, lives in the cave with his monkey fellows before accompanying the monk Xuanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India.

Visitors can also realize dreams of being a swordsman or swordswoman in the outdoor theater by volunteering to play classical martial arts roles onstage. Such interactions will make visitors feel connected to movies and television and have a better tourism experience, Chen said. I shot many of my works here, said director Zhang, who is shooting a new martial arts TV show, Ode to Gallantry.

"I like Xiangshan very much. The management and tourism projects are bringing more and more people. The transportation is more convenient now, and I believe it will become even more popular, Zhang said.

LINK:	http://en.nbwh.gov.cn/art/2014/6/11/art_1325_55140.html...
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