• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Young Pioneer

  • Home
  • World
    • Americas
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Oceania
    • Pacific
  • Weird World
    • Weird History
    • Weird Places
    • Weird Food
  • Expat Life
    • The Confessional
  • Travel
    • Travel Pro tips
    • Hotel Guides
    • Restaurant Guides
    • City Guides
    • Country Guides
    • Ferroequinology
  • Foods

Top 5 Mainland Chinese Films Not to Miss

October 2, 2017 By Lee Parry 1 Comment

YPT has been based in China since its inception, but we’re not just here to pass the time before a trip to the DPRK. The longer we stay here the more we get to know the best of China. Whether it’s the places to visit, the bars to frequent or the films to watch.


So, here’s YPT’s Five Best Mainland Chinese Films


(sorry Wong Kar-wai, Ang Lee, and Bruce Lee fans).
And no, Jackie Chan doesn’t make the list.

#5 A World Without Thieves (2004)


The director Feng Xiaogang is one of China’s most famous. He’s well known for his action or comedy films. This film has all the stars in it; Andy Lau and Ge You amongst others. But, it’s Wang Baoqiang who steals the show. More about him later.
The film is set mostly on the train from Lhasa back to inner China, the highest railway in the world, as Wang Baoqiang’s character attempts to take his many years worth of earnings back to his home where he’s planning on getting married. Believing there are no thieves in the world, he soon becomes the centre of attention!


Ride on this epic train journey with YPT on our Tibet: Roof of the World Tour every July!


#4 In the Heat of the Sun (1994)


You remember the two Chinese lads in Rogue One? One of them was Jiang Wen, one of the most iconic actors and directors in post-reform China. His ‘Red Sorghum’ was a breakout film, and his later films have been very successful. But perhaps the most interesting is In the Heat of the Sun.
You want to see what Beijing was like emptied of parents who’s been sent to the countryside in the Cultural Revolution, and what coming-of-age meant in a time like this? Then this is the film for you.
This is a fascinating look at the urban China of the late Mao period. Who’d have thought the breakdown of the state and your parents moving away would lead to certain freedoms?


If you’re interested in Chinese urbanism and modernity, or just enjoy urban exploration, then we recommend you visit Ordos: China’s most epic ghost city!


 

#3 Breaking with Old Ideas (1975)


It’s YPT so there’s got to be one ideological introduction to Maoist political theory on the list! Watch this film to try to get some idea of the Maoist project that underpinned everything from the early Yan’an days to the Cultural Revolution.
Mao is still a big figure in China, and that’s not going to change for a while. So while the Chinese state tries to slowly brush his ideas under the carpet, here’s one way to help you understand why Mao decided to turn China and its Communist Party on its head instead of focusing on the urban-based development at all cost promoted by his comrades.
And fortunately, the comrades at the Ministry of Propaganda over at YouTube have the whole film up for you to watch!


Want to understand more about Maoist China? Come along on our Chairman Mao Revolutionary Tour each June, and see his birthplace, mausoleum and spend a few days in Nanjiecun – the last People’s Commune in China.


#2 Blind Shaft (2003) / Blind Mountain (2007)


We can’t choose between these two films, they are both shocking and relevant. Director Li Yang finds comedy in death in the film Blind Shaft, a film set deep in a coal mine in Shanxi province and the big hit film for Wang Baoqiang, whose innocence and naivety is a symbol for the people in a new post-socialist China.
And he finds horror in real life in Blind Mountain, a film about a woman tricked and sold as a bride deep into the heart of rural Shanxi.
These two films remind you that a night out in Sanlitun or a stroll through the French Quarter in Shanghai are more comparable to life in Tokyo, Singapore, Paris or New York than to the heartlands of rural China.


Delve deep into rural China to places few foreigners ever journey through on our China Revolutionary Red Base Tour


#1 A Touch of Sin (2013)


This is surely the standout film from controversial (to the authorities anyway) director Jia Zhangke. His films are renowned for their arch-realism, capturing the mundane nature of life, and so are unpalatable for a lot of people.
But, A Touch of Sin is a fictionalized journey through five real-life stories of recent years in China that is a little easier on the eye. It’s a whirlwind journey, but we think it is a masterpiece of the contradictions of post-Mao China. “Some get rich first” was Deng Xiaoping’s famous slogan, but what happens to those that don’t?

Movie fanatic looking for some travel inspiration? Don’t forget to check out our
‘5 Best Movies to Inspire Travel‘ blog!

 

Read Also:  5 Unconventional Christmasses Around the World

If you’ve worked your way through this list and developed a real craving for China, click here to see a list of our China tours.

Don’t forget – from our office in Xi’an we can tailor make any tour or help any project come to fruition, from journalistic, film and TV to family adventures!

Read Related Posts:

A Guide To Jackson International Airport
A Review of Glorious Fatherland (and why you should see it)
The Roof of the World: A Road Trip Through the Pamirs
From Dusk 'til Dawn on Hua Shan
The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts

Lee Parry

Social Media Manager & Chief Editor at Young Pioneer Tours
Lee Parry is a social media manager and chief editor for youngpioneertours.com. He is based in China and has also published a steampunk revenge novel called 'Tell no Tales'.

Latest posts by Lee Parry (see all)

  • Cutud Lenten: getting nailed in the Philippines - June 20, 2019
  • Midget boxing is funny - May 17, 2019
  • Fictional Countries: 5 that would be great to visit (but you can’t) - May 13, 2019
  • Birobidzhan – The Soviet Zion - May 13, 2019

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Travel Tagged With: china, Film, Inspiration, review, Travel

Primary Sidebar

Most Read Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Related Posts

The Four Best Things to Do in Yangshuo on a Rainy Day
Seeing Both Sides: A Journey through Israel and Palestine
Exploring the China-DPRK Borderlands
Gringo: Dan ‘Tito’ Davis interview part II

Footer

Our Facebook Feed

The Young Pioneer Magazine shared a link.

6 days ago

The Young Pioneer Magazine

Pampanga Street Food!!! - The Street Food Guy ... See MoreSee Less

Pampanga Street Food!!! - The Street Food Guy

Fun fact kids! Pampanga is the culinary capital of the Philippines  As in it has the best cuisine in the country. I’ve written about backstreet Angeles fare before, but today I was to hit the ...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

The Young Pioneer Magazine shared a link.

2 weeks ago

The Young Pioneer Magazine

CONIFA World Cup to be held in North Macedonia – Young Pioneer Tours ... See MoreSee Less

CONIFA World Cup to be held in North Macedonia – Young Pioneer Tours

Today, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations has announced that the CONIFA World Cup 2020 will be held in Skopje, North Macedonia. According to CONIFA, the competition will be between...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

The Young Pioneer Magazine shared a post.

2 weeks ago

The Young Pioneer Magazine

- Let's Buy An Island ... See MoreSee Less

- Let's Buy An Island

Welcome to the LBI shop, the no 1 place to buy gifts & souvenirs related to our project, as well as glorious nation, the Principality of Islandia.
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

The Young Pioneer Magazine shared a post.

2 weeks ago

The Young Pioneer Magazine

MICHELIN Guide Beijing 2020 Selection ... See MoreSee Less

MICHELIN Guide Beijing 2020 Selection

The first edition of the MICHELIN Guide Beijing was officially launched today. It features 1 three-MICHELIN-star restaurant, 2 two-star restaurants, as well as 20...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

The Young Pioneer Magazine shared a post.

3 weeks ago

The Young Pioneer Magazine

Two years later… - Let's Buy An Island ... See MoreSee Less

Two years later… - Let's Buy An Island

It is almost two years ago now that I was informed that Nici Island in Coron was for sale. Read the full article here for more info.
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

OUR TWITTER FEED

The Young PioneerFollow

The Young Pioneer
Retweet on TwitterThe Young Pioneer Retweeted
YPioneerToursYoung Pioneer Tours@YPioneerTours·
22 Apr

Making summer travel plans? Look no further than our incredibly unique and special trip to Papa New Guinea for the Mt. Hagen Festival featuring over 100 local tribes including Skeleton Men, Huli Wigmen and Waipa… https://t.co/9sgcfvuPcz

Reply on Twitter 1120160648220930048Retweet on Twitter 11201606482209300481Like on Twitter 11201606482209300481Twitter 1120160648220930048
TheYoungPionee1The Young Pioneer@TheYoungPionee1·
22 Apr

https://t.co/Q9RmMSp1B1

Hillary Clinton was not part of a paedophilic conspiracy and Jews didn't do 9/11, but there are some outlandish conspiracies that actually happened... #Pizzagate #Tuskegee #PrescottBush

Reply on Twitter 1120191112570736640Retweet on Twitter 1120191112570736640Like on Twitter 11201911125707366401Twitter 1120191112570736640
TheYoungPionee1The Young Pioneer@TheYoungPionee1·
2 Apr

https://t.co/0JkfprNYgu

@SKODAUK and they say Eastern European cars are shit!

Reply on Twitter 1112910262116315138Retweet on Twitter 11129102621163151381Like on Twitter 1112910262116315138Twitter 1112910262116315138
TheYoungPionee1The Young Pioneer@TheYoungPionee1·
2 Apr

https://t.co/Zmb1bIcAPk

Ever woke up in a weird place after a night on the lash? Sailors who got #shanghaied woke up in the weirdest of places... #SanFrancisco #Shanghai

Reply on Twitter 1112910084101664768Retweet on Twitter 11129100841016647681Like on Twitter 1112910084101664768Twitter 1112910084101664768
TheYoungPionee1The Young Pioneer@TheYoungPionee1·
2 Apr

Misadventures with #ladyboys and corrupt but helpful #police in the city of #Angeles, #Philippines

https://t.co/km64hX6Jj7

Reply on Twitter 1112909789082730496Retweet on Twitter 11129097890827304961Like on Twitter 1112909789082730496Twitter 1112909789082730496
Load More...
Logo The Young Pioneer
  • Contact us
  • About us

Copyright © 2019 · theyoungpioneer.com