Chinese Town Gets Hollywood Makeover

A five-hour drive southwest of Shanghai, in the hills near a manufacturing hub, something like a mirage appears among the smokestacks: a full-scale replica of Beijing’s Forbidden City. Welcome to “Chinawood,” the world’s largest outdoor film studio in the fastest-growing film market. At more than 2,500 acres, Hengdian World Studios, as it is officially known, is larger than Universal and Paramount Studios combined. Its sets have appeared in more than 800 Chinese television shows and films.

Hengdian has plenty to offer beyond the Forbidden City. There is the Qin dynasty imperial palace that was the backdrop for the movie “Hero.” There are 100 authentic Ming dynasty riverside houses shipped in from southern China, and the largest indoor Buddha in China. “We’ve already surpassed Hollywood in volume,” says 76-year-old Xu Wenrong, a one-time farmer who owns the studios. “Here, we offer everything.” Even dreams of stardom.

The remote town has seen its population grow to about 70,000, from 19,000, in 10 years. New residents lured by the glamour of show business have earned a nickname: hengpiao, or “Hengdian drifters.” Many become extras. Mao Mao, 25, came to Hengdian three years ago from the southern province of Fujian with dreams of becoming an actor. Playing a pedestrian or a guard earns him 60 yuan ($9) a day—enough to send some money back home. And shaving his head for a Qing period show earns him another 40 yuan. (For women, he says, a shaved head commands much more.)

To visit Hengdian World Studios, the world’s largest outdoor film studio, is to journey through a strange, camera-ready version of Chinese history. WSJ’s Josh Chin reports.

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