For 218 Yuan, Tourists Take the Lead at Hengdian Film Studios

Visitors to the Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang Province can now buy something more than a photograph on a famous film set: a starring role in their own short drama, with packages starting at 218 yuan.

Palace intrigues, ruthless bosses and spectacular reversals supply the plots. The costumes and locations come from a filmmaking hub where tourists can move between imperial palaces and period streets. A professional crew supplies the direction; the people who normally watch the drama on their phones get to act it out.

The 218-yuan starting price excludes park admission and makeup and styling. A package with makeup and styling is listed at 338 yuan, still excluding admission, New Weekly reported, citing Hengdian's official mini-program. Visitors book a day ahead and receive a finished vertical film lasting about 1.5-2.5 minutes.

Launched in August for individual visitors, the paid service had attracted more than 2,000 participants by late that month, according to China Newsweek report. Customers included retirees, families and overseas tourists. Hengdian also offers separate free acting activities, where joining the cast does not mean buying the resulting footage.

That was how a Shanghai tourist identified as VV ended up playing a palace heroine. She told New Weekly that she and two friends drove to Hengdian in early September, intending to recreate scenes from "Empresses in the Palace," a popular television drama about rivalries in the imperial court.

At the Ming and Qing Palace complex, a director approached them about joining a shoot. No acting skills were required. VV took the lead in a story about a disgraced concubine regaining the emperor's favor; one friend played her maid and the other recorded the action behind the scenes.

The production squeezed four costume changes into a little over 40 minutes. The free activity did not include makeup and styling, and an elaborate-looking headdress was a simple headband prop. Staff nevertheless helped the visitors change outfits as the story moved from one scene to the next.

There was little need to memorize a script. The director broke the dialogue into short lines, delivering each one for the visitors to repeat. He demonstrated facial expressions, gestures and where to stand, turning an unfamiliar performance into a series of manageable steps.

The plot opened with a leap into a well. Even this small production had a stand-in for that scene, VV recalled. Later, her character had to pretend not to notice the emperor approaching, then stage a stumble that would end with him sweeping her into his arms.

The romantic rescue proved less graceful in practice. The performer playing the emperor struggled to lift her, and the director rejected a take because his expression showed too much effort. Two crew members eventually supported VV on a bamboo pole, using the camera angle to create the bridal carry.

A childbirth scene brought more laughter. VV's friend, playing the maid, urgently encouraged her to push, while VV struggled to keep a straight face. The performer playing the emperor stayed in character through the visitors' repeated outtakes.

Such encounters build on years of experiments with visitor participation. Zhang Jinquan, head of Hengdian's microfilm team, said it began making films for tourists in 2011 and established a specialist company in 2015, according to New Weekly. The individual short drama packages are the latest version, rather than an entirely new venture.

The attraction's costumed performers have changed, too. When introduced in 2015, their role largely involved posing for photographs. They later added family activities, quizzes and acting exchanges, with visitors earning make-believe wages redeemable for souvenirs, New Weekly reported. Some performers have developed followings of their own, drawing visitors who come specifically to meet them.

For VV and her friends, the reward was not necessarily a film worth showing off. They left with souvenir tokens and memories of costume changes, improvised camera tricks and scenes interrupted by laughter. Buying the footage would have cost 60 yuan; the producer explained that upfront, and nobody pressed them when they declined.

VV enjoyed playing the heroine. Keeping a recording was another matter. "I thought it might be too embarrassing, so I didn't take it," she joked.