The Beijing Film City, located in northern Beijing, has been the headquarters of China's film production since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The studio was opened as a tourist destination in 1998, while most of the buildings there date from the 1980s. The somewhat unflattering outward appearance of the studio premises may not seem too welcoming to foreign tourists, especially when one learns that there are no English language brochures or tour guides available. So, the first and foremost prerequisite for visiting this place is a Chinese speaking friend.

Outside the gate to the studio you can see young movie star hopefuls standing around, waiting for their chance to star in one of the ongoing productions. Some Chinese movie stars have actually got their big breaks here, including one of today's biggest film and television stars Wang Baoqiang.

Tickets for the tour of the film city cost 60 yuan. Once you find the unmarked starting point of the tour, a guide takes the group of visitors through a series of places designed to teach people about the art of Chinese movie making. The first stop, the magical blue screen room. Here, tourists can sit on a "magic carpet" placed in front of a blue wall and see themselves flying over a Visitors to the Beijing Film City can star in their own movie. (Image: Radio86)cityscape on the television screen. In the second building, part of a traditional Chinese courtyard from the shooting site of the famous TV series Dream of Red Mansions (Hong Lou Meng), visitors can act out a scene and star in their own movie. The set includes a table and chairs, and about four people can take part in acting out the scene. The guide tells each actor what to say and then it's time for "action!" It is possible to buy the two-minute tape for 40 yuan.

The tour continues through the adjoining courtyards to a "sound effects studio." Here, a clip of a film is shown on a big screen, while a foley artist next to the stage adds the sound effects to each scene, splashing water here and making tapping sounds there. Although the presentation is quite rudimentary, you might still experience some hair-raising moments in the pitch black auditorium...

In the next part of the tour, visitors are handed laser guns and sent down a network of narrow passageways on a mission to down some quite mean, and shabby, looking... dolls. The laser tag adventure ends with an encounter with what may possibly be the Chinese cousin of King Kong.

At this point, the visitors are briefly led through a souvenir shop to the last part of the tour. Here, you enter a deserted village evoking ancient Beijing, with gravel roads and empty, rundown houses made of styrofoam. The houses are built and demolished according to the needs of different movie productions.

A movie set town at the Beijing Film City. (Image: Radio86)To finish off the tour, visitors are taken inside one of the houses to enjoy a cup of juice, at one yuan a cup, and watch the performance of a female magician. The solemn looking enchantress does her sleight of hand tricks to the tunes of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," which foreigners are likely to find amusing if it doesn't happen to be Christmas season... After the show, a ride back to the main gate is offered on board a badly polluting, gasoline powered sightseeing vehicle for a price of one yuan.

If you are a true film buff with a profound interest in modern movie magic, this place may not be the right place for you, but if you just want to get a sense of 80s nostalgia and a few good laughs, then a visit to the Beijing Film City is worth the trip.

Address: 77, Beisanhuan Zhonglu. Opening hours: 8:30-16:30.