Film & TV wonderworld coming into shape in Pingsha

Pingsha Cultural & Creative Industry Park continues to grow as a building for viewings, video technical support, logistics, service center for cast and crew, and other uses has just been topped off.

The 3,300-sq-m (3,947-sq-yd) structure is dedicated to the film, television, and cultural industries. Part of Pingsha Film & Television Cultural Small Town, it has 10,000 sq m (11,960 sq yd) of floor space.

The pilot Characteristic Small Town in Jinwan District was designated by the Guangdong Provincial Development & Reform Commission last August. The town will feature film culture, history, hands-on acting experience, catering, and entertainment. It will contain facilities for sightseeing, leisure, holidaymaking, fitness, health preservation, reproduced movie scenes, star restaurant, film school, movie star studio, and more.

Pingsha Cultural & Creative Industry Park [Photo by Zeng Yao / Zhuhai Daily]

Zhuhai DCZT Cultural & Creative Industry Park, the principal component of the town, is to be completed along with the rest of the project by 2020. Southern China's largest film studio group has already been located there.

In addition to a 3,000-sq-m sub-studio -- the largest in Asia -- are three sub-stations. These measure in at 1,800 sq m (2,153 sq yd), 2,000 sq m (2,392 sq yd), and 3,000 sq m (3,5889 sq yd), with total combined area exceeding 10,000 sq m (11,960 sq yd).

The location is the former site of the Pingsha Sugar Refinery. This was the shooting location for the classic movie A Sweet Life ("Tiánmì de Shìyè," 甜蜜的事业) by famous director Xie Tian (1914-2003) in 1979.

A 157,000-sq-m (187,770-sq-yd) cultural town with 186,000 sq m (222,454 sq yd) of floor space has risen on the foundations of the old industrial center. Film and TV production, marketing and distribution, themed tourism, and creative design will be the new functions of this former factory.

The Pingtang River divides the park. The north section is to be dominated by China Landscape City, Beijing courtyards (siheyuan, 四合院), Prince Kung (Gong) Mansion, and high-tech digital photo studios among other buildings. The southern part will include World Landscape City and staff apartments. Also planned are commercial pedestrian streets in the styles of the Ming and Qing dynasties and Europe, and a World Leisure Folk Garden.

The first phase has received more than 300 million yuan ($45 million) in investment. This will be managed by Zhuhai DCZT Cultural & Creative Industry Park Co Ltd, which arranges building contractors. The company's expertise in operating cultural businesses will ensure that a cultural industrial complex is created integrating tourism with film and TV culture. The center will provide one-stop film and television production services, while also creating a cultural atmosphere for international students.

The goal is 11 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) in total industrial output by 2020, which reflects the confidence and ambition of the company.