Culture

Wonder Where to Visit in China? Six Breathtaking Hollywood Filming Locations to Check Out

Apr 27, 2019, 12:48pm2019/06/06 11:07:30 Diming Xu

As summer approaches, it is time to make your travel plan. If you are interested in coming to China for your summer vacation, it might surprise you how many places you have already “been to”, I mean, through Hollywood films. Now, let’s take a closer look at these breathtaking Hollywood filming locations in China.

Beijing in “Kill Bill”, “The Painted Veil”

Places to Go: Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, Summer Palace, Hutongs, etc.

Beijing is the capital of China. Combining both modern and traditional architecture, Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a rich history dating back three millennia. It has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites — the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, Zhoukoudian, and parts of the Great Wall and the Grand Canal — all tourist locations and great locations for film making.

The movie “Kill Bill” was shot in Beijing. It’s interesting that both the director Quentin Tarantino and the leading actress Uma Thurman are Chinese martial arts fans.

Shanghai in “Her”, “Mission: Impossible 3”, “007：Skyfall”

Highlighting Places to Go: The Bund, Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai Museum, Yuyuan Garden & Bazaar, Shanghai Disney Resort, etc.

Building many skyscrapers in its large city area, Shanghai is a great choice for filming the exciting fighting scenes of those great movies. No matter the scene of 007 swimming in a high building with the summits of other high buildings outside his window, or the leading actor walking down the streets in Lujiazui area and near the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai shows a wonderful image to attract people to see its real look. Recent years have also seen a number of Hollywood blockbusters turn to Shanghai when choosing the shooting location, with scenes from Bond outing Skyfall, sci-fi thriller Looper and now Spike Jonze’s Oscar-winning Her all taking the city as their backdrop.

Those who have seen the Joaquin Phoenix-starring futuristic love story may recognize a number of locations from around Shanghai, which stands in for parts of Los Angeles in the movie.

Hong Kong in “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life”, “Doctor Strange”, “Transformer 4: Age of Extinction”, “Pacific Rim”

Highlighting Places to Go: Hong Kong Skyline, Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay, Stanley Market, etc.

Being the third largest financial center in the whole World, Hong Kong has been shown on many Hollywood movies and classic films of Bruce Lee. Therefore, you could follow those highly praised masterpieces to visit Hong Kong, where you could savor the harmoniously contrasting of traditional China and the Western world. you could walk along the roads to see the aging Chinese residences facing the modern skyscrapers, taste different kinds of delicious snacks in the busy streets and markets, have fun in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort with your friends and families, and stay leisure in a close offshore isle, etc.

In Marvel Movie “Dr.Strange”, the fight scene in Hong Kong is quite memorable, since it shows the nightlife of Hong Kong, with streets full of shops and restaurants.

Hong Kong scene in Doctor Strange (source: imagenesmy.com)

Guilin in “The Painted Veil”,”Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith”

Highlighting Places to Go: Li River, Yangshuo, West Street, Elephant Trunk Hill, etc.

Guilin has particularly gorgeous natural sceneries of Karst landform, which may be why directors of some successful movies make their scenes in this beautiful place. Reaching Guilin, you could be impressed by its rare landscape with hills rising around, shimmering river floating, folk customs of local Zhuang, Miao, and more ethnic minorities, and the simple and pure life of villagers in the countryside. The Li River, Yangshuo, etc. are real highlights not to be missed. Only if you arrive in Guilin, you could know the meaning of a famous word, “Guilin’s scenery is the best under heaven.”

In “Star Wars III”, if you pay attention to the background, you will find out Kashyyyk, the Wookiees; home planet, is actually based on Guilin.

Kashgar Old Town in “Kite Runner”

Highlighting Places to Go: Kashgar City, Xinjiang Region

This impressive and famous movie Kite Runner was shot in Kashgar in Xinjiang area actually. In Kashgar Old Town, the particular charm of Islamic could make you feel like standing in a place in Central Asia. During your visit there, you could roam in the multiple lanes to appreciate the exotic buildings and find the best place for photography. But more importantly, make sure to pay a visit to the One Hundred Year Old Tea House to sip a cup of local tea and get close to the local lifestyle. Follow the Kite Runner to experience the Muslim flavor in Kashgar.

Kashgar old town (source: farwestchina.com)

Wulong Karst Landscape in “Transformer 4: Age of Extinction”

Highlighting Places to Go: Wulong County, Chongqing

If you are a big fan of the Transformers, you must remember the scene at the Houping sky hole. That was filmed in Wulong County in Chongqing. And after that soul-stirring movie came out, a lot of fans visited this awesome place to see the Karst landscape and get close to nature. I have never seen this kind of landscape before in my life, the huge hole with emerald plants, really appeal to me as well as the antique Chinese houses. And the fresh air to revitalizes the mind.