Movies/TV shows set in China
by j_stevan | created - 05 Sep 2017 | updated - 2 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Empress of China (2014–2015)
45 min | Biography, Drama, History
Harem inner life and female rivalry story based on events of life of Wu Zetian; the only female Emperor in the Chinese history.
Stars: Bingbing Fan, Baoping Shen, Huichun Wang, Yuan Gao
Votes: 442
2. The Monkey King 2 (2016)
Not Rated | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
When a travelling monk is stranded in a wasteland, The Monkey King must escort him across the land to retrieve sacred scriptures and protect him from an evil demon.
Director: Soi Cheang | Stars: Aaron Kwok, Gong Li, Shaofeng Feng, Shenyang Xiao
Votes: 3,461 | Gross: $0.71M
3. Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)
R | 114 min | Action, Drama, Romance
During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Ye Liu
Votes: 45,975 | Gross: $6.57M
4. The Last Emperor (1987)
PG-13 | 163 min | Biography, Drama, History
Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying
Votes: 111,562 | Gross: $43.98M
5. Hero (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 187,695 | Gross: $53.71M
6. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song
Votes: 116,285 | Gross: $11.05M
7. Shanghai Triad (1995)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, History
A provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord's mistress.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Gong Li, Baotian Li, Xiaoxiao Wang, Xuejian Li
Votes: 6,026 | Gross: $2.30M
8. Farewell My Concubine (1993)
R | 171 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, Gong Li, You Ge
Votes: 33,186 | Gross: $5.22M
9. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 167,011 | Gross: $2.73M
10. The Flowers of War (2011)
R | 146 min | Drama, History, Romance
An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Tianyuan Huang
Votes: 55,738 | Gross: $0.01M
11. Eros (2004)
R | 104 min | Drama, Romance
Three short films, one each from Directors Michelangelo Antonioni, Steven Soderbergh, and Wong Kar Wai, address the themes of love and sex.
Directors: Michelangelo Antonioni, Steven Soderbergh, Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Alan Arkin, Gong Li, Chang Chen
Votes: 7,337 | Gross: $0.19M
12. Temptress Moon (1996)
R | 130 min | Drama, Romance
Not far from Shanghai, in a country town stands the palatial home of the Pang family. Old Master Pang is an addict who brings up his beautiful daughter Ruyi on opium smoke. Her older ... See full summary »
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Gong Li, Kevin Lin, Saifei He
Votes: 2,041 | Gross: $1.08M
13. Madame Sin (1972)
Not Rated | 75 min | Adventure, Crime, Thriller
A C.I.A. Agent is used as a pawn in an insane woman's plan to steal a Polaris submarine.
Director: David Greene | Stars: Bette Davis, Robert Wagner, Denholm Elliott, Gordon Jackson
Votes: 1,160
14. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 281,702 | Gross: $128.08M
15. Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013)
Not Rated | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
From legendary action director Tsui Hark and the creators of international smash hit Detective Dee - Mystery Of The Phantom Flame comes the captivating tale of Dee Renjie's beginnings in ... See full summary »
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Carina Lau, Chien Sheng, Mark You-Ting Chao, Angelababy
Votes: 5,190 | Gross: $0.09M
16. 2046 (2004)
R | 129 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Several women enter a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years, after the author has lost the woman he considers his one true love.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Ziyi Zhang, Faye Wong, Gong Li
Votes: 61,807 | Gross: $1.44M
17. Hannibal Rising (2007)
R | 121 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
After the death of his parents during World War II, young Hannibal Lecter moves in with his beautiful aunt and begins plotting revenge on the barbarians responsible for his sister's death.
Director: Peter Webber | Stars: Gaspard Ulliel, Rhys Ifans, Gong Li, Aaran Thomas
Votes: 115,931 | Gross: $27.67M
18. Qing guo qing cheng (1975)
165 min | Drama, History
This dragon lady of the Ching Dynasty was the power behind the throne for 50 years, and hew vast tapestry of palace intrigues is vividly brought to the screen in this memorable epic.
Director: Han Hsiang Li | Stars: Lisa Lu, Ivy Ling Po, Lung Ti, Yao Hsiao
Votes: 131
19. Ye yan (2006)
Not Rated | 131 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
A loose adaptation of Hamlet, "The Night Banquet" is set in an empire in chaos. The Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Minister and the General all have their own enemies they would like to finish off at a night banquet.
Director: Xiaogang Feng | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, You Ge, Daniel Wu, Xun Zhou
Votes: 7,172
20. The Palace (2013)
115 min | History, Romance
During Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty, Chen Xiang enters the palace and meets the maid Liu Li who is the same age as her. The two girls become best friends. Liu Li desires to achieve ... See full summary »
Director: Anzi Pan | Stars: Dongyu Zhou, Xiao Chen, Zixiao Zhu, Zanilia Zhao
Votes: 366
21. Empresses in the Palace (2011–2012)
TV-G | 45 min | Drama, History, Romance
A young woman born in Eight Banners' family marries the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. After surviving through many murderous scandals and betrayals, she prevails as the most powerful woman in the Emperor's harem, the Empress dowager.
Stars: Li Sun, Kei Gambit, Jianbin Chen, Qian Sun
Votes: 2,148
22. Mao's Last Dancer (2009)
PG | 117 min | Biography, Drama, Music
In Maoist China, a boy is taken from his family and trained to become a dancer, but everything he knows is challenged when he is chosen to attend a ballet summer school in Houston, Texas.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Penne Hackforth-Jones
Votes: 8,296 | Gross: $4.81M
23. M. Butterfly (1993)
R | 101 min | Drama, Romance
In 1960s China, French diplomat Rene Gallimard falls in love with an opera singer, Song Liling - but Song is not at all who Gallimard thinks.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeremy Irons, John Lone, Barbara Sukowa, Ian Richardson
Votes: 10,961 | Gross: $1.50M
24. 55 Days at Peking (1963)
Unrated | 154 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
During the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, U.S. marine, Maj. Matt Lewis, along with British consul, Sir Arthur Robertson, develop a plan to keep the rebels at bay until an international military relief force can arrive.
Directors: Nicholas Ray, Guy Green, Andrew Marton | Stars: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson
Votes: 7,426
25. Thirteen Women (1932)
Passed | 73 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Ursula plots to murder 12 women with her supernatural powers.
Director: George Archainbaud | Stars: Irene Dunne, Ricardo Cortez, Jill Esmond, Myrna Loy
Votes: 1,867
26. Lady of the Dynasty (2015)
122 min | Drama, History, Romance
The tragic story of a Tang Dynasty imperial consort who was the favorite of the Emperor Xuanzong.
Directors: Shiqing Cheng, Yimou Zhang | Stars: Bingbing Fan, Leon Lai, Chun Wu, Gang Wu
Votes: 738
27. The Emperor and the Assassin (1998)
R | 162 min | Drama, History, Romance
In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Gong Li, Fengyi Zhang, Zhou Sun, Xiaohe Lü
Votes: 6,471 | Gross: $1.33M
28. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama, History
A story set in nineteenth-century China and focusing on the life-long friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid social norms imposed on women.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Bingbing Li, Jun Ji-hyun, Vivian Wu, Russell Wong
Votes: 4,017 | Gross: $1.35M
29. A Terra-Cotta Warrior (1989)
145 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
China 2.200 years ago. It's the time of the Qin dynasty. The emperor seeks immortality by busily letting his alchemists search for a formula and building the famous terracotta army from the... See full summary »
Director: Siu-Tung Ching | Stars: Yimou Zhang, Gong Li, Tian-Ming Wu, Rongguang Yu
Votes: 1,088
30. Nine-Colored Deer (1981)
30 min | Animation, Short, Fantasy
A fairy deer is betrayed by people that he saved before.
Directors: Jiajun Qian, Dai Tielang | Stars: Xiaohua Cheng, Jianhua Ding, Chengchun Yang, Ding Yu
Votes: 243
31. Shanghai (2010)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A '40s period piece which revolves around an American expat who returns to Shanghai in the months before Pearl Harbor due to the death of his friend.
Director: Mikael Håfström | Stars: John Cusack, Gong Li, Chow Yun-Fat, David Morse
Votes: 10,340 | Gross: $0.04M
32. The Opium War (1997)
153 min | Drama, History, War
Qing official Lin Zexu burns the opium of British traders in a bid to end the opium trade. Incensed by his actions, the British traders appeal to their government, leading to the First Opium War and the eventual cessation of Hong Kong.
Director: Jin Xie | Stars: Guoan Bao, Liankun Lin, Sihung Lung, Debra Beaumont
Votes: 599
33. Mei Lanfang (2008)
150 min | Biography, Drama, History
A biographical account of Mei Lanfang, China's greatest opera star.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Leon Lai, Ziyi Zhang, Honglei Sun, Hong Chen
Votes: 1,629
34. Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
PG | 125 min | Drama, Romance
China in the 1920s. After her father's death, Songlian is forced to marry the wealthy Master Chen. With three wives already, each living in a separate house, there is fierce competition for his attention and the privileges that are gained.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Gong Li, Jingwu Ma, Saifei He, Cuifen Cao
Votes: 35,367 | Gross: $2.60M
35. Chinese Box (1997)
R | 99 min | Drama, Romance
The story of Hong Kong, from New Year's Day to June 30th, 1997, when the British left their colony and turned it over to the People's Republic of China.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Jeremy Irons, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung, Michael Hui
Votes: 3,595 | Gross: $2.20M
36. Flowers of Shanghai (1998)
Unrated | 113 min | Drama
In the "flower houses" (upscale brothels) of Shanghai, various interweaving stories of love, loyalty, and deceit play out subtly.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michiko Hada, Michelle Reis, Carina Lau
Votes: 4,079
37. The Assassin (2015)
Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Drama, History
A female assassin receives a dangerous mission to kill a political leader in eighth-century China.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Yun Zhou, Satoshi Tsumabuki
Votes: 17,995 | Gross: $0.61M
38. Shanghai Express (1932)
Approved | 82 min | Adventure, Drama, Film-Noir
A notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland
Votes: 10,341
39. The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
Approved | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
In Shanghai, dragon lady 'Mother' Gin Sling operates a gambling house for wealthy patrons but she clashes with influential land developer Sir Guy Charteris who wants to put her out of business.
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Victor Mature, Ona Munson
Votes: 2,966
40. The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
Not Rated | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Fascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane, Glenn Anders
Votes: 33,342 | Gross: $0.01M
41. The White Countess (2005)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, History, Romance
In 1930s Shanghai, a blind American diplomat develops a curious relationship with a young Russian refugee who works odd--and sometimes illicit--jobs to support members of her dead husband's aristocratic family.
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave
Votes: 6,977 | Gross: $1.67M
42. Mission: Impossible III (2006)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
IMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.
Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 390,908 | Gross: $134.03M
43. Skyfall (2012)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench
Votes: 731,371 | Gross: $304.36M
44. Story of Yanxi Palace (2018)
60 min | Comedy, Drama, History
A young girl searches for the truth about her older sister's death by becoming a seamstress in the Emperor's harem.
Stars: Jinyan Wu, Yuan Nie, Enshang Liu, Charmaine Sheh
Votes: 1,618
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