Zhou Enlai film marks founding anniversary

To mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China, the film Zhou Enlai Returned to Yan'an opened across the country on Wednesday.

Actor Liu Jin, who resembles Zhou in appearance, has acted the role of the first premier of the People's Republic of China on more than 70 occasions, both in movies and TV series.

He also directs the movie, the first time he has gone behind the camera.

Adapted from writer Cao Guxi's non-fiction novel with the same title, the film chronicles Zhou's return to Yan'an, Shaanxi province, in 1973.

Accompanying some foreign visitors, Zhou, despite ill health, showed up in Yan'an on June 9, 1973, and stayed in the city for 22 hours.

Through the perspectives of Zhou, the film uses flashbacks to highlight historical incidents that made Yan'an a revolutionary base of the Communist Party.

Producers reveal that the crew took four years to do research, including interviewing Zhou's niece, Zhou Bingde, and those who once worked for him.

The film held an advanced screening in the Great Hall of People in Beijing on May 10.