War Epic 'Four Crossings' Tops 100 Million Yuan at Mainland Box Office, Sparks Guizhou Tourism Boom

HONG KONG, July 1 (HKCNA) — "Four Crossings," a film set against the backdrop of the Red Army's Four Crossings of the Chishui River campaign during the Long March, recently opened across mainland China, holding the top spot in single-day box office receipts for consecutive days and surpassing 100 million yuan on June 30, its fourth day in theaters. As a revolutionary historical drama commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Long March's victory, "Four Crossings" has proven popular with audiences, and its release has also driven a summer tourism boom in China's Guizhou province, where the film was shot.

"Four Crossings" focuses on the pivotal historical moment following the 1935 Zunyi Conference, faithfully recreating a classic battle. Some 30,000 Central Red Army troops found themselves trapped and pursued by 400,000 heavily armed Nationalist forces. Under the decisive command of Mao Zedong, and relying on flexible and mobile tactics along with a "feint east, strike west" strategic wisdom, they crossed the Chishui River four times, breaking through successive encirclements and ultimately escaping the Nationalist army's siege — becoming a classic case in world military history of the few defeating the many and the weak overcoming the strong.

To recreate the history, "Four Crossings" was filmed entirely on location in Guizhou, spanning 32 filming locations and 107 scenes, covering revolutionary sites including Zunyi, Gouba, Loushan Pass, Tucheng, Maotai, Taipingdu and Erlangtan.

The film's director, Xu Zhanxiong, born in the 1980s, told the media: "Our screenplay was walked out step by step on foot across the mountains and rivers of Guizhou. That's exactly how a historical work should be created."

Liu Ye, who plays Mao Zedong in the film, recently told reporters that the "Four Crossings" crew visited many authentic Long March sites, where they could even see slogans written by the Red Army when they rallied local villagers back in the day.

Driven by the wave of interest in "Four Crossings," red tourism sites such as the Zunyi Conference site and Loushan Pass have been popular with visitors this summer. In addition, famous attractions such as Huangguoshu Waterfall have also seen a boost in tourism popularity. Seizing on the film's release, Guizhou's culture and tourism authorities launched a "Tour Guizhou With 'Four Crossings'" film-tourism promotion: visitors who present a "Four Crossings" ticket stub and follow the designated procedure can enjoy benefits such as one free admission this year to select scenic areas within Guizhou province.

CCTV Finance recently reported that Loushan Pass, a core battle filming location for "Four Crossings," has received more than 160,000 visitors this year. The area has developed the "Ten Scenes of Loushan," including the Xifeng Terrace, Yanming Tower and Changkong Bridge, faithfully recreating the rugged mountain terrain, with many visitors traveling there specifically after seeing the film.

"Tianyan News," published under Guizhou Daily, recently reported that at the Huangguoshu scenic area's visitor service center, many tourists were gaining free admission through the "Four Crossings" ticket-stub promotion. One visitor said the Huangguoshu Waterfall is spectacular during the current high-water season and that they went to see "Four Crossings" on its opening day: "After watching the film, I can come to Guizhou and enjoy the scenery of a 5A-rated tourist attraction for free. What a great deal." (End)

Source: Hong Kong China News Agency (HKCNA) — https://hkcna.hk/docDetail.jsp?id=101359842&channel=2813