'China's Hollywood' sees strong revival in production, tourism

Gao Haitian, 32, who works as an extra in movies and television, spent most of this year's Spring Festival holiday hurrying from one shooting location to another in and around Hengdian World Studios.

The complex, known as "China's Hollywood" and the world's largest film and TV center, is in Dongyang's Hengdian township, Zhejiang province.

Except for two short stints during the seven-day holiday period, Gao didn't have enough time for a proper rest. "Sometimes, we would travel to shooting locations as early as 3 am and wouldn't finish shooting until quite late at night," he said.

"Many movie and television crews have been catching up on their schedules," Gao said, since China announced the relaxation of COVID-19 control measures in early December.

The bustling worksites and the thousands of creative and technical staffers who chose to stay during Spring Festival are sure signs of a strong recovery for the movie industry, said Liu Xiaohong, deputy director of media development at the Hengdian Group, which owns and operates the center.

Some 22 crews continued shooting during the Spring Festival period, while over 40 were getting ready to shoot. They cover genres ranging from historical dramas to fantasy tales, with 30 or so filming centers and over 100 studios at the Hengdian complex operating at full capacity.

More than 6,000 actors, actresses and crew members celebrated Chinese New Year at "China's Hollywood", and the festivities were the most boisterous ones in over three years, Liu said.

"A crew, whether in film or television, usually wraps up shooting before Spring Festival, which is a time for family reunions," Liu said. "But it takes a lot of time and resources to start a project, especially large ones, and the overall schedule can be disrupted once a project is put on hold, even for a few days. Many cast members decided they would not stop working during the holiday."

Ma Depeng, another extra pursuing his acting dream in Hengdian, said that "large crews are definitely on the rise". A notice recruiting over 100 extras caught his attention the other day. Ma said it was the first time in his four years working at the studios that he had seen so much demand for workers right after Spring Festival.

"Movie investors are bullish, which means opportunities for us," Ma said. "The year 2023 is going to be an optimistic period."