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'Chinese Hollywood' Makes a Comeback

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'Chinese Hollywood' Makes a Comeback CHINA DAILY | GLOBAL EDITION Tuesday, June 2, 2020 | 15 LIFE ‘Chinese Hollywood’ makes a comeback HANGZHOU — Actors, camera operators and lighting engineers are busy in film studios. Internet celeb­ rities hold up mobile phones to livestream on the street. Vendors set up food stands when night falls. After more than 100 days on pause, “China’s Hollywood”, Heng­ dian, has resumed operations. Located in the eastern Chinese city of Dongyang, Zhejiang prov­ ince, Hengdian World Studios is one of China’s biggest film­and­TV pro­ duction centers and a barometer of the industry. Shoots were restricted for months due to the COVID­19 epidemic. As the outbreak wanes, over 40 movie and teleplay crews had started working in Hengdian as of May 22, while over 60 others are preparing to resume shooting. Hengdian World Studios has implemented strict epidemic­pre­ vention measures, says Zhou Feng­ lai, head of its actors’ guild. “All extras should register their travel histories and report their body temperatures twice a day,” Zhou says. “And people who’ve come from Green dreams major areas with a high risk of infec­ tion were required to undergo con­ centrated quarantines.” Dongyang has released a slew of Guiyang has improved its ecology to attract tourists and improve residents’ quality of life, policies to support Hengdian’s work report Yang Feiyue in Beijing and Yang Jun in Guiyang. resumption. The city has allocated 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) to subsidize ven­ ourists are returning to Jiu’an to ue and equipment rentals, and enjoy rural cuisine and nature as accommodation. It has also cut or the novel coronavirus outbreak exempted taxes and fees for film­ wanes. and­TV production companies. TThe township in Huaxi district in Gui­ Hengdian World Studios has yang, capital of southwestern China’s offered living subsidies for extras. Guizhou province, has transformed from Some even became local factory a coal­mining community into a popular workers or food­delivery people. getaway destination. “My father always hoped that I Resident Wu Shigang’s phone has been would return to my hometown and busy with calls from customers making land a stable job, but I insist on stay­ lunch and dinner reservations since the ing here to chase my dream,” says May Day holiday from May 1 to 5. 27­year­old Li Haishan, an extra in Before the COVID­19 outbreak, Wu Hengdian. enjoyed brisk business since he quit his Li often rode horses for the cam­ mining job and started serving rural cui­ era. Now, he’s riding an ebike to pick sine in 2015. up and deliver meals for online He says he’s very happy that everything food­delivery platform Eleme. is returning to normal. “At least I can keep working as a In 2010, the township shut down all the rider,” he says. mines in Jiu’an to protect water and Since many actors and actresses restore the environment. It then used its have returned, Li plans to look for karst landscapes and ancient tea planta­ roles he can play while continuing tions to develop tourism. his delivery job. Tea and tourism increased per capita “I have stayed in Hengdian for income in Jiu’an by 2,500 yuan ($350) last months. The hardest times will be year. over soon,” he says. Wu has developed tea­based dishes In 2019, Guiyang recorded 229 million Hengdian is the shooting base for that have won him over 800 regular cus­ visits, up 21.5 percent year­on­year. a quarter of China’s movies and one­ tomers, he says. Tourism income stood at 309.8 billion third of its TV series. Over 64,000 He also offers them experiences pick­ yuan, up 26.1 percent. episodes have been shot there. ing, processing and tasting tea. The city has been named the best desti­ The street was empty and quiet Jiu’an is one of many areas that have nation to beat the summer heat in an when producer Huang Jinmei benefited from Guiyang’s green develop­ annual tourism summit hosted by the arrived in Hengdian in mid­April. ment. China Tourism Academy and the Public The hustle and bustle have since The city has put ecological protection Meteorological Service Center of the Chi­ returned. first and seeks to maximize economic and na Meteorological Administration over “In the film industry, as long as social benefits, says mayor Chen Yan, the past five years. you can control the budget and pro­ who’s also a deputy to the 13th National The mindset that has led to reduced vide high­quality products, there People’s Congress. consumption since the COVID­19 out­ must be a place for you to survive,” Last year, the city’s “green economy” break is changing at an accelerating rate, Huang says. accounted for 45 percent of the regional Chen says. Producer Bao Mengmeng is hope­ gross domestic product, which reached The city received 8.26 million visits ful about the future. 404 billion yuan, up 7.4 percent over the during the recent May Day holiday, about “Although we are encountering previous year. 63 percent of the same period last year. more challenges, we can spend “We’ve strengthened top­level designs Tourism income recovered by 66.2 per­ more time polishing our scripts and and made systematic innovations,” Chen cent to 2.83 billion yuan. keeping good connections with big says. Safety measures, including daily sterili­ platforms,” she says. Guiyang has stepped up efforts to zations of public facilities, personal “In such a hard time for the whole reduce industrial pollution, construc­ health code checks and a 30 percent cap industry, I believe the fittest will sur­ tion dust and, pollution from kitchens. on attractions’ maximum capacity, have vive and quality will prevail.” It has also improved air quality by been carried out intensively. encouraging the use of new­energy vehi­ The local government has also XINHUA cles. reduced rents for severely affected tour­ The city recorded 358 days of good air ism businesses and offered them subsi­ in 2019. dies. Digital coupons for scenic spots Guiyang has also formulated a strin­ and hotels are boosting tourism spend­ gent environmental­responsibility sys­ ing. tem to protect biodiversity and restore Visitors will be able to enjoy 50 percent local bodies of water. off all A­rated attractions by the end of the It has spent 3.4 billion yuan to address year. water pollution. Sewage pipelines have Benefits from tourism have made Wu been added, and 18 wastewater plants more acutely aware of the environment’s have been built. importance. “The city’s sewage treatment will He and his family also call on guests to exceed 95 percent,” Chen says. protect the ecology. The city has increased forest coverage With the local government’s support, by 113.3 square kilometers and urban Wu has developed a small sewage­treat­ green spaces by 1.3 square kilometers, he From top: Trees bloom in Guiyang’s Gui’an new district’s cherry orchard. ment system to produce clean water for says. Farmers play reed instruments to beseech the heavens for bountiful harvests. plants in the neighborhood. A total of 1,025 parks featuring urban, Villagers farm in Guiyang’s Gaofeng town. Yunman Lake ecological park in And he has planted cherry, waxberry forest, mountain, wetland and communi­ Gui’an new district. and peach trees to enhance visitors’ expe­ ty elements had opened by 2019. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY riences. Top: Buildings constructed in Guiyang has initiated a new round of The goal is to enable more visitors to the styles of the Ming and Qing park construction this year to bring the enjoy the charm of Jiu’an’s healthy envi­ dynasties serve as filming sites number to over 2,000, during the coun­ pollution treatment and shantytown vation and sustainable development, ronment, he says. at Hengdian World Studios. try’s 14th Five­Year Plan (2021­25). upgrades, Chen says. Chen says. Above: Tourists watch a This new construction will be inte­ A cluster of culture and creative­in­ The continually improving ecology has Contact the writers through TV­drama shoot. PHOTOS BY BAO grated with ecological protection, soil­ dustry parks will be built to boost inno­ helped attract tourists from far and wide. [email protected] KANGXUAN / FOR CHINA DAILY.
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