This summer's box office hit Once Upon A Time In The Middle East, a film blending anti-war themes with culinary arts, features realistic Middle Eastern street scenes that were not shot overseas. The sets were meticulously built in Qingdao, Shandong province. Over six months, China Movie Metropolis in the Qingdao West Coast New Area constructed a full-scale 1:1 replica of a Middle Eastern town, complete with a working kitchen and detailed wall grime.

This dedication to "hand-crafted" filmmaking reflects Shandong's rise as a powerhouse in China's film industry. From The Wandering Earth to Detective Chinatown 1900, many blockbusters have been shot in the province.

Spanning approximately 1.7 million square meters with 40 international standard soundstages, workers at China Movie Metropolis in Qingdao spent six months constructing a 1:1 scale Middle Eastern town for the film Once Upon A Time In The Middle East. The set was built with painstaking detail — even the exhaust systems work and the kitchen grime can withstand an IMAX close-up. This authentic environment allows actors to interact with real props, heat, and smoke, creating the sense of a truly functioning space.

"The tables, walls, signs, and grease stains don't look staged," one viewer commented. "It feels like someone has actually lived here." In an era of AI-generated imagery, this "hand-built" approach reflects a dedication to craftsmanship. It goes beyond simple set design, showcasing the Chinese film industry's evolution from being able to "just shoot" to consistently tackling complex projects.

As of April, China Movie Metropolis had served nearly 400 film and TV productions, collectively contributing over 41 billion yuan ($5.78 billion) to China's box office. Beyond Qingdao, Shandong has formed a cluster of film production bases, including the Yimeng Red Film Base, the Leling Film Base in Dezhou, and the Red Sorghum Film Base in Weifang. This network provides filmmakers with a wide range of settings and technological support.

Hand-built sets, IMAX-ready details, and functional kitchens — China Movie Metropolis champions the art of "hands-on" filmmaking. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]