Hengdian World Studios
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Hengdian World Studios

Hengdian World Studios

Chinese film-studio town built around vast period sets, from Forbidden City replicas to old Shanghai streets

Hengdian is a small town in Dongyang that became, somewhat improbably, one of the world's largest working film studios. The complex grew from a single set built in the 1990s for a historical epic into a 330-hectare backlot of period recreations: a full-scale replica of the Forbidden City, a reconstruction of the first emperor Qin Shihuang's palace, Ming and Qing dynasty streets, and old Shanghai and Hong Kong neighbourhoods. Over 1,200 films and television series have been shot here, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the 2020 Disney Mulan, and the sets are in near-constant use.

The studios are open to visitors while production continues, which means wandering between shooting locations where extras in Tang-dynasty armour stand next to camera cranes, directors shout through megaphones, and costumed actors lounge on mobile phone breaks in the shade of a Qing imperial gateway. Tens of thousands of would-be actors have moved to Hengdian to work as extras, and the town around the studios has its own peculiar economy and social life built around the film industry.

The admission price covers access to the main set areas, and the Qin imperial palace and the Forbidden City replica are the most photogenic. There is an amusement park element to the whole enterprise — costume rental, live performances, themed restaurants — but the underlying reality of a working studio town, with all its chaos and hustle, is more interesting than anything on the official programme. Hengdian is about two hours south of Hangzhou and most conveniently reached by bus from Dongyang or Yiwu.

Guide

Getting There

Hengdian is most conveniently reached from Hangzhou, Yiwu, or Dongyang. From Hangzhou, buses take about two hours and run frequently from the main bus station. Yiwu, on the high-speed rail network, is the nearest major rail hub — from Yiwu station, buses and taxis reach Hengdian in under an hour. Dongyang, the city that administers Hengdian, has its own bus connections. There is no direct high-speed rail station at Hengdian itself, so rail travellers will need to transfer at Yiwu or Jinhua.

Day trips from Hangzhou are popular but long. Staying overnight in Hengdian — where the studios operate late for evening shoots — allows a more relaxed visit and the chance to catch the different mood when the day-tour buses have left.

Guide

Things to Do

Hengdian's entire appeal rests on the film studio complex, but within that complex there is more to see than a single afternoon suggests. The main draw is wandering between active shooting locations and the permanent set pieces — the Forbidden City replica, the Qin palace, the Ming-dynasty streets — but the human spectacle of thousands of extras and would-be actors living and working in a purpose-built film town has its own fascination.