Beijing, a perfect location for 'set-jetters'

Beijing is looking to tap into the lucrative "set-jetting" trend that has been gaining traction around the world in recent years. Driven by the global success of big-budget blockbuster productions such as Game of Thrones and The White Lotus, tourists are flocking to take holidays at the real-life locations where their favorite TV shows and films are set.

And, in the Chinese capital, there's no better place to follow in the footsteps of the stars than along the city's more than seven-century-old Central Axis.

As people across China are saddling up to welcome the Year of the Horse with a nine-day holiday, on Monday, in a bid to lure the Spring Festival set-jetters, the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau released 12 movie and TV-themed travel routes. They invite tourists to reenact iconic scenes from popular shows. For instance, the square between the Bell and Drum Towers, once the timekeeping hub of ancient China, stretches less than 100 meters.

Between April 2024 and this month, a total of 425 of the 1,077 recommended sights in Beijing have appeared in more than 30 films and TV dramas. Among them, the legal drama All Rise, showcasing the spirit of young professionals, features over 50 locations in downtown Beijing.

"An acclaimed work can largely boost a city's popularity. Through widely circulated scenes, Beijing reveals both its dynamic modernity and its centuries-old historical temperament," said Xu Ying, director of the publicity center of the bureau.

As an ancient capital spanning five dynasties, Beijing is dotted with numerous ancient architectural sites.

The Forbidden City, though, is very well known. Visiting movie fans can see for themselves an area featured in late Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-sweeping The Last Emperor. Near the Zhengyang Gate, or Qianmen, cinephiles may recall scenes from maverick auteur Jiang Wen's espionage blockbuster Hidden Man, set in the turbulent 1930s. For devoted fans of director Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine — the first and only Chinese-language film to win the Cannes Film Festival's prestigious Palme d'Or — the Mei Lanfang Memorial, the last residence of the Peking Opera master, is a must-visit.

Wilawan Kunlawong, an international student from Thailand, who first visited Beijing at 14, recalled being impressed seeing the path to the Forbidden City crowded with tourists dressed in Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) garb, while Spanish vlogger Noel Sirerol Gonzalez shared that watching the 2011 drama Legend of Zhenhuan, also known as Empresses in the Palace, deepened his understanding of the Forbidden City's layout and history.

In art house cinema, in the work of director Zhang Lyu, a Jilin province native, Beijing is portrayed as a main character, leading critics to describe his oeuvre as "a love letter" to the city that Zhang himself describes as his longest-held home. In his poetic film The Shadowless Tower — the top winner in 2023 at the 13th Beijing International Film Festival, where it bagged five awards — he portrays with great sentiment places like the iconic White Pagoda at the Miaoying Temple.

"I turned on the camera to record my observations and reflections on Beijing, a city that has undergone huge transformations, reshaping the lives and temperament of its residents. Yet, even after finishing the film, Beijing remains a puzzle to me,"Zhang said.