Shooting stars! Unique Jiading scenery draws film, TV crews

Loutang Ancient Town — Ti Gong

Huilongtan Garden — Wang Lihui

Jiading Confucius Temple — Yang Yujie

The Yin Family Residence — Li Qi

Shanghai Poly Grand Theater — Li Qi

Hu Min

Jiading reveals a variety of its features in the viewfind-er of films and televisions. Whether it is the elegance of classical gardens, the solemnity of historical buildings, the fashion of modern architec-ture, the charm of old streets and alleys, or the artistic-flavored parks and the venues carrying rich cultures, they all put people in a trance. Come to Jiading, fol-low the footprints of films and television series, start a unique light and shadow journey, and feel its charm!

Sources of history and culture 

Jiading Confucius Temple and Huilongtan Pool

Jiading Confucius Temple, also known as the School Palace, was founded in 1219 of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

It is not only an ancient build-ing with historical and cultural value, but also an important place to understand ancient Chinese Confucian culture and the impe-rial examination system.

In the classic film “Flirting Scholar” by Stephen Chow, the gate of the Confucius Temple becomes the stage for the Four Scholars of Jiangnan to show their talents. The popularity of the film has drawn more attention to this ancient Confucius Temple.

Next to the temple is the Hui-longtan Pool which is formed by the confluence of five rivers from north to south. The Yingkui hill is located in the middle of the pool, surrounded by green water like a pearl.

Five tributaries wind into the pool, looking like five dragons playing with a pearl, thus the name “Huilongtan.”

This is where the couple Ru Hua and Qiu Xiang met for the first time in “Flirting Scholar,” adding a simple and elegant atmosphere to the film.

Beauty of classical gardens 

Guyi Garden

Guyi Garden — Dai Yixin

This garden was originally named “Yiyuan,” taken from the description “green bamboos are lush” in the ancient Chinese clas-sic “Book of Songs.”

In 1746, it was renamed “Guyi Garden.”

The garden is one of the repre-sentatives of Jiangnan (regions to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) classical gar-dens and also one of the five major classical gardens in Shanghai.

Many TV dramas and documentaries such as “Romance in the Rain” and “Gardenia and White Orchid” have been filmed here.

As a garden in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Guyi Garden is an ex-cellent choice for shooting films and television series around the period.

Light of modern architecture 

Shanghai Poly Grand Theater

As a landmark building in Ji-ading New City, this structure features a large theater with 1,600 seats, a multi-function hall with 400 seats and two outdoor the-aters. Being the first large-scale cultural facility project designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando in China, it combines the interna-tional cutting-edge architectural trend with the traditional aes-thetic spirit.

Films and TV dramas including “Fall in Love like a Star”, “You Are My Glory,” “Nothing but Thirty,” “We Are All Alone” and “Cry Me a Sad River” have been filmed here.

With the unique charm of the theater, a sense of fashion and romance is added to the plot.

Charm of old street 

Jiading Xidajie Street

In Jiading, this street is a place full of memories. Whether it is the former Ximen Wet Market, Shanglinchun Bookstore, or the existing Jushan Bridge and Gaoyi Bridge, every Jiading native has left his or her footprints here.

At present, renovation work on the Ximen Historical and Cultural Block, where the Xidajie Street is located, has started.

It will be built into a complex and dynamic cultural block inte-grating cultural leisure, creative industries, commercial services, tourism and sightseeing, and liv-able life, giving it new vitality.

The film “To Our Youth That Is Fading Away” was shot on this street. The scenes show the simple beauty of Xidajie Street vividly and let more people know about this old street in Jiading.

Auto cultural landmarks 

Shanghai Auto Expo Park and Shanghai Auto Museum

Located in Shanghai Interna-tional Auto City in Anting Town, Shanghai Auto Expo Park is a comprehensive tourist attraction that integrates the Shanghai Auto Museum, the Shanghai Auto Con-vention and Exhibition Center and the EV-AI Harbor.

In addition to providing exhibition and test drive/ride ex-periences, various activities such as drive-in movies, music festivals and sports events are held in the park regularly.

The Shanghai Auto Museum is the first professional automobile museum in China, with over 130 classic cars covering more than 50 brands around the world. It also displays the automobile decon-struction models.

The TV drama “Here We Meet Again” was filmed here. With the unique environment of the venue, a modern and technological vibe is added to the relevant scenes.

Choice of urban life 

Sheraton Shanghai Jiading Hotel

The hotel is the first interna-tional five-star hotel in Jiading. It is 980 meters from Jiading North Station of Metro Line 11, with con-venient transportation.

Many scenes of the TV drama series “Here We Meet Again” were filmed here, making it a hot spot for film and television fans.

Artistic and creative space 

Stone Culture Industrial Park of DHGE Group

This park has a total area of about 40,000 square meters, including an art center, art community, a natural art museum, an interna-tional stone carving art center and a film and television shoot-ing base.

It is one of the shooting loca-tions of the popular TV dramas “Nothing but Thirty” and “I Will Find You a Better Home.”

Land of fantasy visions 

O M Studio

The studio is located at 168 Changxiang Road, Nanxiang Town. The area of the real-scene studio is more than 16,000 square meters, and it has more than 100 scenes.

In addition to a comprehensive modern style, the studio has creat-ed some scenes that are relatively scarce in the market, such as fac-tories and hospitals, which can meet the shooting needs of vari-ous teams.

In 2021, a newly-emerging vir-tual idol “Liu Yexi” gained more than 7 million fans with three vid-eos, setting a record of gaining 4 million fans in seven days.

Those short videos with film-level picture quality, plot and post-production special effects were filmed here. The videos inge-niously combine beauty-makeup elements with the meta-universe concept in science-fiction mov-ies, receiving more than 2 million likes and bringing the studio into the public view.

Retro and artistic town 

Loutang Ancient Town

The town is famous for many historical buildings with ancient styles and cobblestone roads.

Here, the original simple style and living scenes are still well maintained.

The TV drama “Second Time Is a Charm” was filmed here. Through the camera, the unique charm of Loutang Ancient Town is shown to the audience, and more people come to know this retro and ar-tistic town.

Flow of time 

The former Industrial Zone Library and the Yin Family Residence

The former Industrial Zone Library was founded in 1952, with an area of about 60 square meters. Its predecessor was the library of Loutang Town Culture Center.

In 2003, the Jiading District gov-ernment merged Loutang Town and the Jiading Industrial Devel-opment Zone to establish the new Jiading Industrial Zone Manage-ment Committee, and the library was renamed Jiading Industrial Zone Library.

The Yin Family Residence is an immovable cultural relic in Jiad-ing. The existing part is only half of the original residence.

After being renovated in 2022, the Yin Family Residence, built during the early Republic of China (1912-1949) period, was renovated into the Home Study, a branch of the Jiading Industrial Zone Library.

It keeps many of the structure’s original architectural features, including the entrance hall, the door of etiquette between the frontyard and main hall, and the courtyard.

The house’s owner is Yin You-gui, who is the younger brother of Yin Youmo, one of Jiading’s early entrepreneurs. The residence of Yin Youmo is adjacent, which is now a municipal-level immovable cultural relic.

The TV drama “My Best Friend’s Story” was filmed in these places. Through the camera, the unique allure of these places unfolds, al-lowing the audience to experience their historical charisma.