2.The China Western Film Studios: Restoring a City Spanning a Millennium

In the 1990s, Zhang Xianliang invested in establishing the China West Film Studios, the only famous film studio in western China with unique regional characteristics. Built on the ruins of the barracks in Zhenbeipu, it is also named Zhenbeipu Western Film Studio. The studio consists of Qing city (ancient architecture), Ming city (Cultural Revolution views) and a street of Old Yinchuan. Because nearly 100 films, such as A Chinese Odyssey, The Herdsman and Red Sorghum were produced here, the studio enjoys the reputation that “Chinese movies started from here to go global”. In addition, it retains the original unique and desolate landscape of Zhenbeipu, leaving a broad space for domestic and foreign artists to display their imaginations.

 

 

The house of the Bull Demon King in the film A Chinese Odyssey. [Photo / Yue LinFan]

 

 

A classic scene from the film, A Chinese Odyssey, in Qing city. [Photo / Yue LinFan]

 

 

“The Gate of Luck” in the film, A Chinese Odyssey, produced in 1994. [Photo / Yue LinFan]

 

 

A screenshot photo from the film, A Chinese Odyssey. [Photo / Yue LinFan]

   

 

A scene from the film, The Herdsman. [Photo / Yue LinFan]

 

 

A scene depicting a moment in the cultural revolution in the film Farewell, My Concubine, was shot here. [Photo / Yue LinFan]

 

 

Architecture embodying the characteristics of the cultural revolution. [Photo / Yue LinFan]

 

 

A street in Old Yinchuan is filled with features from the Republic of China era. [Photo / Yue LinFan]

 

 

A street in Old Yinchuan is full of features from the era of the Republic of China. [Photo / Yue LinFan]