Xinhua Bookstore in Aftershock

As the movie Aftershock became a hit across China, the set where the movie was made has undergone full-swing reconstruction. According to the South Lake Park Ecology Administration of Tangshan city, Hebei province, the reconstructed set will cover an area of 126 mu, with building area of over 40,000 square meters. The total investment will reach 200 million yuan. All landscape and buildings will be copies of those in the film.

Feng Xiaogang, director of Aftershock, built an outdoor set in South Lake Park that occupied 13,000 square meters, which successfully reproduced the folk customs and urban landscape of the Xiaoshan area around the 1970s. In order to show the brutality of the earthquake more vividly, the outdoor set was completely destroyed into ruins by a blast in the film. In June this year, Tangshan started reconstructing it and plans to enlarge its size.

The reconstructed set is located at the east side of Jianshe South Road, opposite the east gate of the South Lake Park. All buildings and landscapes will be built in strict accordance with the scenes in Aftershock.

Although the reconstructed buildings will have the look of the 1970s, they will include new and modern functions. For instances, the cinema will be built with advanced IMAX halls; the workers’ club will combine body-building, leisure and entertainment; the hostels will integrate accommodation and reception services; and the Fang family courtyard will be used to display the culture of Tangshan.

A set that reproduces what it looks like in the 1970s.

By Li Jing