Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling has been a massive hit with audiences around the world – including China.

After a fairly slow opening weekend, as of the end of July, Barbie has made $25.5 million at the box office in China – not a huge figure but certainly better than other recent Hollywood releases like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, the film has achieved excellent ratings on China’s most influential movie apps, reaching 9.4/10 on Maoyan and 8.6/10 on Douban, and crucially, has penetrated the country’s internet discourse.

The film’s approach to issues of feminism, patriarchy and masculinity (which surprisingly snuck past China’s stringent censors) has struck a chord with Chinese women, many of whom are finding it increasingly difficult to balance traditional societal pressures. China’s feminist movement has seen significant expansion in recent years amid several high-profile #MeToo campaigns, but the subject remains contentious and discussions on social media are often censored.

Sixth Tone reported that some Chinese women have taken to using the film as a test of their boyfriends’ attitudes to feminism, after men were recorded walking out of some showings of the film.

The film also comes at a time when women are as poorly represented in China’s leadership as they have been in decades, with no women on the country’s top decision-making body, the Politburo.

Away from online discourse, Barbie has also become an e-commerce phenomenon, with shoppers scouring online platforms for Barbie-pink outfits and Barbie dolls.

Users of platforms like Xiaohongshu and Weibo recorded themselves seeing Barbie in themed outfits

Taobao reported that its average daily search volume for Barbie-related terms jumped by over 760% between July 21 and July 26. Among the phrases people were looking for on Taobao, searches for “Barbie-style outfits” increased by 1,146% over the same time frame.

Analysts at Taobao have suggested that the popularity of Barbie-styled clothes signifies a shift away from the casual wear and athleisure that became popular during Covid-induced lockdowns towards a more effervescent and happy mood created by Barbie’s favoured hot pink. Users also searched for traditional Chinese clothing styles like cheongsam and hanfu in Barbie pink, representing the ongoing love for local Chinese styles (a trend known as “guochao” or China Chic)  among the younger Chinese generations.

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It’s no secret that Hollywood’s romance with China is over. Despite trying to find the Secret Sauce recipe for success at the Chinese box office – more Chinese characters, co-productions, animation of Chinese classics – nothing has worked. Quotas, censors, ever-outraged nationalistic social media, actor gaffs and a collapse in the US-China trading relationship. Hollywood doesn’t know where to go next with China, so, Wall Street Journal Los Angeles bureau correspondent Erich Schwartzel’s new book, Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy (Penguin) has been this year’s must-read book in Tinseltown.

But what about the rest of us? Are there any lessons to be learnt from Hollywood’s crash-and-burn in China? How have UK and European movies fared by comparison? Do we have franchises that can compete with Marvel and The Fast and the Furious? Can we beat US animation supported by their Mainland theme parks? And, perhaps, is China’s problem with Hollywood in fact our opportunity to grab more screen time? Paul French spoke with Erich Schwartzel in LA and asked him to briefly turn his focus from the US to the UK…

Your book focuses on Hollywood’s chasing and courting of China, but UK and European movie producers and studios also constantly talk China. Would you say the UK/European approach has been less “full throttle” and maybe met with a different reception in Beijing?

American movies have been the dominant force when it comes to films imported into China, but I think that has more to do with the kinds of films Hollywood makes than the country behind them. As China’s box office grew, its audiences wanted to see the types of movies they couldn’t find anywhere else, and to a large extent, the big-budget blockbusters are still the domain of Hollywood. So, while there is the occasional European import that gains popularity in China, I would suspect that many of the themes and approaches of those films scratch an itch that Chinese viewers see in their domestic films and TV shows. Hollywood also has a decades-old tradition of shipping its movies overseas, one rooted in the days of World War II, when the bombing in Europe allowed America to catch up to the European film capitals and establish a global footprint they were denied.

Do you think the Chinese censors and regulators have a different view of UK/European film than Hollywood due to the somewhat different overall states of the respective relationships? In short, is European investment/screen access to China as highly politicised as American?

The movie screen in China is absolutely reflective of the political alliances and attitudes held by the Chinese Communist Party off-screen. Watch which coproduction treaties form or what country’s movies are permitted to play in China, and you can see where China is trying to deepen ties. This is true across Europe, where obviously some countries have warmer relations with China than others. Overall, I’d argue that the relationship is less politicised than the US-China relationship. During the Trump administration, it could feel like screen access loosened and tightened by the day, depending on where things stood between the two countries.

When it comes to franchises, America has done well – The Fast & The Furious, Marvel etc – but they’re not without constant political niggles. UK franchises tend to be a bit different – Paddington, Wallace and Gromit… Are we just in an area China is more comfortable with? And, as an added extra, I must ask, as this is the China-Britain Business Council – how is Beijing coping with Bond?

I think this is a corollary to the first answer. The franchises that do well in China tend to do well because very few other countries make those kinds of movies. Sure, the UK franchises may tend to be more family-friendly, which never hurts when it comes to getting approved by the Chinese censors. But even family films can be caught in CCP crosshairs! In 2018, Disney made a live-action movie called Christopher Robin, about the lovable bear Winnie the Pooh. Executives there didn’t know, though, that Xi Jinping is called “Pooh” by online commentators who want to criticise the president without mentioning him directly (it is not meant to be a flattering nickname). The movie was rejected by censors.

Bond has an interesting history in China. The recent movies there have done pretty well at the box office, though they suffer from the same problem Star Wars does: There is little nostalgia for a character that global audiences were coming to know during the Cultural Revolution when much of China was shut off from all Western media influence. One of my favourite details in my book comes courtesy of 007. In the 2012 movie Skyfall, there’s a scene in which Bond breaks into a Chinese skyscraper and shoots and kills a security guard (as Bond does). It was cut from the film at the request of Chinese censors, who did not want a moment on screen where China looked weak.

Do UK/European stars have a better relationship with China? They seem less contentious and are less required by their home audiences to make statements about the country.

There’s no question that American stars are held to a different standard in China because of the home country they are representing when they travel there, promote their films, or try and court Chinese fans. This is why the Fast & Furious actor John Cena had to tape an apology last year when he implied in an interview that Taiwan was its own country. Not doing so risked getting his movies banned in the country – a move that would have made him radioactive to studios and impossible to hire. I also wonder – though don’t know myself – if American stars have a longer lineage of threading politics into their celebrity in ways that create more tripwires in a place like China.

When it comes to film festivals, there has been a hunger in China since its earliest days in entertainment to be a player in global cinema – on its own terms. Remember the “Fifth Generation” Chinese movies like Farewell, My Concubine and Raise the Red Lantern – celebrated at festivals around the world but banned in their home countries. Over the next several years, I think we’ll see China continue to try and have its (sanctioned) movies break into glitzy festivals, or host more itself so those A-listers come to them, rather than the other way around.

Can we perhaps see this current period as the UK/European film industry’s potential moment? The ongoing trade war with America continues to affect Hollywood and maybe Europe is more friendly, not just in geopolitical terms, but in that it can also give China a higher profile at the Cannes, London or Venice festivals than the Oscars currently do?

There is certainly an opening in the Chinese box office for non-American imported films. Major American releases like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings were not released in China last year. Though no one knows why, tensions between the two countries certainly don’t help. And Chinese audiences, well-versed in watching foreign entertainment, are also receptive to non-US imports from Europe as well as India and South Asian countries. Because the government programmes the Chinese multiplex, the movies available to watch will inherently reflect those friendlier ties. Do you want to be the CCP bureaucrat who lets in a movie from a country your leaders are at odds with?

When it comes to acclaim, though, China still has a way to go. The country’s filmmakers have certainly cracked the commercial code – it’s not uncommon for Chinese movies to collect more than $500 million at the box office. Acclaim has been tougher, which raises all sorts of questions about what kind of quality storytelling is possible in a censored infrastructure. To wit, look at the movies that China submits as nominee for the Oscars each year. Chances are it’s a commercial propaganda movie – the equivalent of hoping the Academy gives a top prize to Rambo. Certainly, there are brilliant and beautiful Chinese movies being made today, but it seems as though the country’s leaders still want audiences there and elsewhere to watch the films that make China look strong – and just as commercial as everyone else.

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BAFTA Breakthrough China will see a jury of Chinese and British industry experts find five ‘Breakthrough’ talents from across China to take part in the year-long mentoring and guidance programme. Winners will be announced in October, and then flown to the UK to be introduced to British creatives in order to share their knowledge and experiences with their British peers.

Breakthrough China was announced last month at the Shanghai International Film Festival by Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, who was joined by British actor Tom Hiddleston and Wendy Yu, Founder and CEO of Yu Holdings and sponsor of the initiative.

“We are delighted to be announcing BAFTA Breakthrough China, the first time BAFTA’s flagship new talent initiative has taken place outside of the UK,” said Berry. “BAFTA Breakthrough China will identify and support talented newcomers, bring together passionate and creative people, and encourage closer collaboration and cultural exchange between the Chinese and UK industries, for our mutual benefit.”

BAFTA Breakthrough China press conference, L:R Amanda Berry, Tom Hiddleston and Wendy Yu

Chinese industry professionals from the field of TV, film and gaming are invited to recommend talent who can then submit an application before the August 16 deadline. Whether they are a director, writer, producer, actor or game developer, as long as they have a desire to produce content for global audiences, work with UK talent and have proven themselves at their level, they are suitable for entry.

“Over the years we have gained a greater understanding and appreciation of the Chinese creative industries,” said Berry. “But we recognise that we still have a lot to learn about new talent in China, so we are reaching out to members of the Chinese film, games and television industries to help us by recommending talented individuals and encouraging them to apply.”

The initiative follows on from BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brits, which was launched in 2013 and has seen over 100 British stars emerge into the mainstream. Previous Breakthrough Brits include actors Letitia Wright (Black Panther and Black Mirror) and Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and games producer Dan Gray (Monument Valley). Over forty percent of Breakthrough Brits have gone on to become BAFTA winners or nominees at the prestigious film, games or television awards ceremonies.

BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brits, who are selected by a jury of leading industry professionals, receive one-to-one mentoring and career guidance, access to BAFTA events and networking opportunities in the UK and internationally. Supporters of the initiative in recent years include the actors Oliva Colman and Tilda Swinton, actor-producer Brad Pitt, directors Tom Harper and Barry Jenkins, game designers Brenda Romero and Tim Schafer, and actor-writers Sharon Horgan and Amy Schumer. BAFTA will offer similar opportunities through Breakthrough China, with access to British, Chinese and international industry figures.

Over forty percent of Breakthrough Brits have gone on to become BAFTA winners or nominees

“Initiatives like BAFTA Breakthrough China are instrumental in helping to strengthen the careers of exciting new talent, and to promote them on a global scale,” said Tom Hiddleston, who is an ambassador for BAFTA Breakthrough China. “I have seen first-hand all the fantastic ways in which BAFTA supports Breakthrough British talent, and it’s wonderful that they will now be doing the same in China. There is so much creativity and craftsmanship in China: I’m excited to see who the winners will be.”

BAFTA Breakthrough China press conference in Shanghai, Tom Hiddleston and Wendy Yu

Since 2013, BAFTA has worked with partners in mainland China and Hong Kong to deliver masterclasses and international scholarships, whilst engaging world-renowned, award-winning filmmakers, actors and craftspeople such as Johnnie To, Zhang Yimou, Tony Ching, Hugh Bonneville, Lois Burwell, Naomi Donne, Lindy Hemming, Duncan Kenworthy and Eddie Redmayne. Building on these events and initiatives, BAFTA Breakthrough China promotes a spirit of open, creative collaboration between the UK and China and encourages cross-cultural exchange.

“People are willing and interested in working with China and have seen creative talent coming out of China but without having a network or someone on the ground to bounce ideas off, it was a barrier to get things up and running,” explained Tim Hunter, BAFTA’s director of learning and new talent. “This initiative embodies the spirit of connecting people and the long-established trend of looking at new talent but it is also helping people build a network at the start of their career where everyone can learn from each other,” he said.

“Nurturing China’s talent of tomorrow across the arts continues to be a key driver for Yu Holdings as we look to foster creativity and contribute towards the growth of a wider eco-system,” said Wendy Yu, CEO of Yu Holdings. “Through our partnerships, we strive to provide opportunities for acceleration as well as creative-cultural exchange – we are thrilled to be working with BAFTA on Breakthrough China, the first initiative of its kind, which we know will help propel the careers of our rising stars.”

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The Wandering Earth – a big-budget sci-fi thriller that tells the tale of a future planet earth saved by a China-led rescue team – earned a whopping £500 million at the Chinese box office over the New Year holidays. Based on a Liu Cixin story, the film has gone down very well with the authorities. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, recommended everyone watch it and state-run papers have universally been singing its praises.

The film shows China unifying the world and leading other countries to ultimately save the earth. But international critics have panned the film – not because of its one-dimensional actors and soppy script but because it “appears to have injected a dose of President Xi Jinping’s political theory into the plot,” says The Economist.

“As China becomes the de facto leader of the United Earth, other countries must fulfil their roles as deserters, cowards, and fools,” wrote Chelsea Chung in Supchina.

Reviewers seemed to be surprised that a Chinese-made film has political undertones and pro-China bias. The 2015 film Wolf Warrior, currently the highest-grossing Chinese film – also garnered headlines, accusing it of being a recruitment tool for the People’ Liberation Army. But it’s a tactic taken straight out of the Hollywood playbook.

Is Wolf Warrior a recruitment tool for the People’ Liberation Army?

Back in 1986, a Hollywood film called Top Gun featured an unknown actor called Tom Cruise training to become a fighter pilot at naval aviation school. Following its release, there was a 400 percent spike in fighter pilot applications in America. Likewise, the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs also saw a spike in female recruits to the CIA. Both these films were made with direct support from the Department of Defence (DOD).

The US government has worked behind the scenes on over 800 major movies and more than 1,000 TV shows

More recently, the film 2012 film Act of Valour was a Hollywood production, funded by the US military, that told the story of the rescue of a captured CIA officer. Actual Navy Seals were used instead of actors (and boy that showed) and was essentially a 111-minute-long advert for the army.

This is by no means a new phenomenon. Back in 1929, the very first Best Picture Oscar was awarded to the film Wings. It was funded by the Pentagon. In 1950 the CIA bought the rights to George Orwell’s Animal Farm and then funded the 1954 British animated version of the film. Written in 1945, Animal Farm was a non-too-subtle criticism of Stalin’s Soviet Russia.

Tom Secker and Matthew Alford, authors of a book on government influence in Hollywood, trawled through thousands of pages of formerly classified archive documents to discover that the US government has worked behind the scenes on over 800 major movies and more than 1,000 TV shows. And the man responsible for much of that is Phil Strub, the Department of Defence’s chief Hollywood liaison. Strub has been editing scripts, altering plot lines and changing history since the early 1990s.

Top Gun – the ultimate recruitment movie

It’s an obvious ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ relationship between the Pentagon and Hollywood. The 2002 Jack Ryan film, Sum of all Fears, got the use of two B-2 bombers, two F-16 fighter jets, a National Airborne Operations Centre, three Marine Corps CH-53E helicopters, a UH-60 Army helicopter, four ground vehicles, 50 Marines, and an aircraft carrier – all for a meagre million dollars. Dozens of other ‘Pentagon-positive’ films have received equipment and expertise in exchange for a re-working of the script and often re-working of actual history as Zero Dark Thirty and Black Hawk Down both did by removing embarrassing details about characters involved in the films.

But less obvious movies including Meet the Parents, Iron Man and the Transformers series are also on the list of films censored or modified by the Pentagon. Strub was responsible for adding the line “Bring ‘em home,” about US troops attacked by alien Decepticons, to create an image of parental care by the US military, and his fall out with Iron Man director John Favreau has gone down in Hollywood legend.

So for those who claim The Wandering Earth is merely a propaganda showpiece, it might be worth remembering that the same argument can be made of Apollo 13, Armageddon and Deep Impact – all Hollywood blockbusters with Mr Strub’s red ink all over them.

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As Chinese publishers gear up for their biggest ever year at the London Book Fair, Jo Lusby looks at the market for content in China, and a box office race that tells a bigger story about book, film and TV businesses in the world’s largest IP market.

The race was on: Who would grab the lion’s share of the RMB 5.83 billion (£665.9 million) 2019 Spring Festival box office? Would it be Chinese space crews battling to save Planet Earth from a direct collision with Jupiter? Or the first full-length feature film from that plucky porcine British export, Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year?

At first, it seemed that the Year of the Pig was already in the bag for Peppa in January, when the utterly charming What is Peppa? the promotional trailer went viral, scoring more than a billion hits on social media. In a ground-breaking move, the short film targeted mobile video sharing adults rather than the core pre-school audience and employed production values usually saved for art house films. The film shows a baffled grandfather in a remote village on a mission to secure “a Peppa” for his urban grandson. Heart-warming and affectionate, it looked like UK franchise owners eOne had a guaranteed hit on their hands.

Peppa Pig and friends in the Chinese New Year movie

Meanwhile, the promotional machine for a very different box office rival was gearing up. The Wandering Earth has been billed as China’s first entirely home-grown sci-fi feature. Directed by Frant Gwo and based on a novella by Hugo Award-winning sci-fi writer Liu Cixin, the production was praised for its special effects, garnering reviews that compared it favourably with major US vehicles like The Martian. This was sufficient for it to rocket to the top spot, taking almost 50 percent of the holiday audience share. Peppa Pig, meanwhile, had to settle for 12^th place, reportedly grossing RMB 111 million, just under 2 percent of the holiday audience. Critics and parents online complained that the Alibaba Pictures-backed ‘feature film’ was little more than a selection of episodes cobbled together with live-action sequences.

This story is about more than two duelling blockbusters though. Creativity in China today is big business, with books, films, and television shows gathering big audiences and even bigger paydays for the platforms and companies that distribute them. And yet, as studios, producers, and publishers continue to attest, the control over what content reaches the eyes and ears of Chinese people is as tight as at any other time during the 40-year reform and opening period.

British children’s brand owners – a key strength of the UK creative economy – have come to depend on earnings from the Chinese market, hiring in specialist expertise to help manage complex and lucrative commercial relationships. Meanwhile, parental enthusiasm for wholesome creativity from abroad among Chinese parents is metered by government anxiety over foreign influences in children’s lives.

Ongoing government clampdowns has left businesses in the creative sector struggling to find stories that will simultaneously appeal to the masses and government censors

Ongoing government clampdowns on adult and children’s content perceived too edgy, too commercial, too foreign, or too opulent has left businesses in the creative sector on the back foot, struggling to find stories that will simultaneously appeal to the masses and government censors. There are formal and informal restrictions on TV streaming slots and print approvals related to foreign children’s properties, and Chinese publishers are thinking carefully before investing in new foreign book brands.

Undeniably, the commercial market is still healthy for Chinese and foreign authors alike. In 2018, children’s books continued to be the largest single category in the RMB 89 billion (£10 billion) book market, accounting for 25 percent of the total. Foreign authors lay significant claim to that bounty, with half of the top ten children’s bestsellers from overseas. Yet it is evergreen classics that benefit most, with Charlotte’s Web at number 1, and The Little Prince and Fantastic Mister Fox at numbers 7 and 10 respectively.

The Three Body Problem broke the dominance of contemporary classic novels

In adult fiction, it’s a similar story of long-tail classics, with eight of the top ten titles published at least ten years ago. Three were first published more than 30 years ago. Authors and publishers in China blame a combination of censorship and conservatism among publishers for the absence of new voices. There are rumours that the number of new ISBNs issued in 2018 fell by 25 percent, encouraging publishers to stick with what they know and look for a sure-fire hit.

Into that environment steps the once marginal subculture of sci-fi. The Wandering Earth was given an official endorsement of sorts when Chinese space crews were shown enjoying a private screening ahead of its official release. With Chinese sci-fi comedy Crazy Alien in second place, the genre jointly accounted for almost 70 percent of the total holiday box office.

The 55-year old science fiction writer Liu Cixin may be an unlikely beneficiary of the state-sponsored space programme. In print, his 2008 trilogy The Three Body Problem broke the dominance of contemporary classic novels in the 2018 top ten, taking third, fourth, and fifth places. Sci-fi has become a new safe haven for creatives, although as yet, Liu seems to be the only author who has benefited.

Lacking the wherewithal to go out on a limb for a new risky proposition, Chinese publishers are increasingly looking to hitch themselves to small and large screen success, whether it be a futuristic juggernaut or a mainstream TV animation series. As the largest ever cohort of Chinese publishers head to Olympia for the annual London Book Fair, the interplay between books, animations, and live features in China’s complex IP market has never been more relevant.

Jo Lusby is the co-founder of creative industries consultancy and agency, Pixie B Ltd. Until 2017, she was the head of Penguin Random House North Asia. She can be contacted at jo@pixieb.com.

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A far cry from the high-rise, glass and steel structures that dominate the capital today, 1990’s Beijing was a dusty city full of low-rise hutong buildings. Street-food sellers hawked their snacks on street corners and entrepreneurial ‘businessmen’ would sell pirated VCDs (a precursor to DVDs) of the latest Hollywood blockbusters.

Writer and director Sam Voutas’ new film King of Peking captures this early ‘90s Beijing period with great humour. Focused on the story of Mr Wang (played by Jun Zhao) and his son, we see them evolve from projecting movies in village squares to bootlegging films in a cinema.

A chance discovery of an early VCD machine leads Wang to become the first seller of pirate movies in the capital and makes him the King of Peking. The money raised from selling the VCDs allows Wang to pay his child support, which enables the pair to remain living – and working – together. But as time goes by and Wang dedicates more of his attention to pirating rather than parenting, his son begins to rebel.

The movie is a fantastic Chinese comedy that transcends international boundaries with humour that tugs at the heartstrings. For a Chinese audience – or anyone living in China in the early 90s – it also provides a heavy dose of nostalgia.

Australian Voutas (who now lives in Los Angeles) grew up in Beijing during the ‘80s and ‘90s and has captured the era with great affection. This period hasn’t often been the subject of non-Chinese filmmakers but is an important moment in China’s history. Divorce rates were on the increase as the children of one-child families grew up. Western culture started to seep in through movies and music, and entrepreneurial locals were looking at ways to get rich quick. All of these social changes are beautifully and sensitively addressed in the film, whilst the sets, props and visuals from the period brought tears to the eyes of the Chinese audience that saw it at the recent premiere in London.

Voutas’ first film Red Light Revolution (about a man who seeks his fortune selling sex toys) was pirated and on sale in the backstreets of Beijing within days of its cinematic release. Being a true Beijinger at heart, Voutas embraced the idea that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and so used it as the base of his next movie. As they say, you can take the boy out of Beijing but you can’t take Beijing out of the boy.

Sam Voutas directing a scene from the film King of Peking

Five questions for writer and director Sam Voutas

What inspired you to write this story?

Being bootlegged! It was surreal to find copies of my last film in Beijing, about a week after we released in the UK. And when I picked the movie up off the shelf in Beijing’s Sanlitun district I really just expected the knock-off version to be a carbon copy, but I was surprised that the DVD actually had original artwork, made-up movie credits, and the like. So that got me going thinking about underground bootleggers back in the day, working in basements in Beijing, a family of pirates loving movies and seeing themselves as movie producers.

The film is set in ‘90s Beijing. How hard was it to find locations in the much transformed modern-day city?

Virtually impossible. In the end, we had to shoot the entire film on the outskirts of Beijing, in towns and cities in Hebei province. The demolition of older buildings hadn’t been as severe out there, so the team was still able to find locations like cinemas from the 1960s and the like. It’s also where we found our ancient beat-up three-wheeler car. Obviously it’s not quite Beijing as it was back then, but it is as close to it as we could find.

You grew up in ‘80s / ‘90s Beijing. Were you consciously trying to historically document this period in China’s history? 

Myself, the art department, cinematographer, as well as the colouring house, we were really trying to make King of Peking feel like a film that was made in China in the 1990s. So not just a film that’s historically accurate to that time, but more something that feels like a Chinese movie from that era. Having the input of the guys in the colouring house in Caochangdi was pivotal, they knew more about how movies were coloured in those days than I could ever know. They helped steer us in the right direction.

Do you think it is important for non-Chinese filmmakers to make films about China?

I think it’s really important for filmmakers to make films wherever, not just about China but anywhere that interests them. Make a story set on the moon if it is something you want to do. It’s really essential we have Ang Lee making Brokeback Mountain for example. Or Werner Herzog making movies in South America or wherever his imagination and inspiration takes him. Did Homer spend much time in Troy? I doubt it, but he was passionate enough in the material to want to spend years of his life writing about it. Each storyteller brings their own unique take to the material, and no two ways one story is told are the same. I feel storytelling, when you get down to it at its simplest level, is a bunch of people sitting around a campfire, passing stories from one person to another. We should encourage people to tell stories, wherever they are. If people don’t like the story, that’s fine, but telling stories is essential.

How will the film be distributed and where can people see the film?

We’re busy working on that now and should have some exciting news shortly. I’m really looking forward to bringing the film to audiences in 2018, and hopefully not just at film festivals or on bootleg DVD store shelves in Sanlitun.

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Situated on China’s east coast, Qingdao is the largest city in Shandong province. Although it is not the provincial capital (which is neighbouring Jinan) it is administered at the sub-provincial level, and it has jurisdiction over six districts and four county-level cities.

As well as having some of China’s best beaches, Qingdao is also a major coastal port city and economic hub. As well as having a major naval base, the city has the world’s seventh-largest port by container throughput and is the gateway to northern China.

Qingdao is also known for its marine science and research, its Ocean University and its recreation sailing. The city hosted major water sports during the 2008 Olympic Games and has also hosted the Volvo Ocean Race and the Clipper Round The World Race.

In 2015 Qingdao entered the Forbes Top 10 Chinese Cities for Business for the first time, coming in ninth. It was given the title of China’s most liveable city in 2016 and is home to a number of major Chinese brands including white goods company Haier, electronics manufacturer Hisense, rolling stock manufacturer CRRC and Tsingtao Brewery.

Qingdao is China’s answer to Hollywood after Wanda Group announced it is creating the ‘Oriental Movie Metropolis’

Film industry

Qingdao has been put on the global map as China’s answer to Hollywood after Wanda Group announced it is spending $8.2 billion to create the Oriental Movie Metropolis in Qingdao. It will include the world’s largest film studio, 30 sound stages, a temperature-controlled underwater set and 221 acres of backlot as well as accommodation, restaurants and a school. All of this will be built on a plot of reclaimed land off the coast of the city by the end of the year. A-lister Matt Damon filmed part of Great Wall in the city and films including Godzilla 2 and Pacific Rim 2 are planned to be filmed there soon.

Qingdao is fast becoming the centre of China’s film industry

Wealth management industry

Qingdao was designated as China’s national-level pilot zone for wealth management reform in 2014. The city has hosted a number of wealth management forums and seminars ever since. British organisation the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) recently launched their examination programmes in Qingdao and the city’s financial sector is seeing strong growth.

Key national strategies

In 2014 the State Council approved Qingdao West Coast New Area as the ninth state level new economic zone in China. With aims to promote trade links with Belt and Road countries, 52 projects had been agreed by 2015 with an overall investment of RMB 300 billion. The projects covered sectors including high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy, new materials, cross-border ecommerce, healthcare, large-scale urban commercial centres, cultural tourism, supply chain logistics and key infrastructure projects – half of those projects have a marine focus.

Shandong Peninsula’s Blue Economic Zone was initiated as a national strategy in 2011, with an aim to boost ocean related industries. Qingdao has gathered major R&D centres and created an industrial hub for marine science and technology to support growth of Qingdao’s blue economy.

Qingdao facts

• As of 2014, Qingdao had a population of 9 million with an urban population of 6.2 million
• The total area under Qingdao’s administration is 11,282 square kilometres

Key Industries

• Electronics
• Petrochemicals
• Automobiles
• Machinery
• Metallurgy
• Building materials
• Biopharmaceuticals
• Textiles and garments
• Food and beverage processing

Contacts in Qingdao

CBBC Chief Representative
Harry Jiang
E: Harry.jiang@cbbc.org.cn
T: 0086 532 8386 9772
A2603, Yihe International, 10 Xianggang Zhong Road, Qingdao 266071

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