The early Chinese film industry was centred in the town of Shanghai. The 1920s was dominated by small studios and commercial films, especially in the action genre. W

The early Chinese film industry was centred in the town of Shanghai. The 1920s was dominated by small studios and commercial films, especially in the action genre. When the leftist elements started emerging in the 1930s, the dispute between Nationalists and Communists was reflected in films and art. 

The industry was heavily disturbed during the Japanese invasion of China, which caused a lot of filmmakers to shift their locations, majorly to Hong Kong. The first Chinese animated film was released at the end of this period. The film industry in Shanghai was in deep control of the Japanese, until the end of the war in 1945.

Censorship in China started taking place after the Communist Revolution in 1949 as domestic films that were already released were banned in 1951.

The industry took a big shift following the end of the Cultural Revolution, including the scar dramas of the 1980s, such as Evening Rain and Hibiscus Town.

The emergence of the sixth generation and post-sixth generation in the post-1990 period led them to make films outside the main Chinese film system which focused on producing films for the international film festival circuit.

The success of films like Crouching Tiger, and Hidden Dragon in 2002 marked China’s cinema popularity in the international market, and audiences all over the world started acknowledging Shanghai's film-producing skills.

China itself saw significant growth in the popularity of its cinema with ‘Lost in Thailand’ becoming the first Chinese film to reach 1 BILLION RMB at the national box office.

Chinese Cinema

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