City's filmmaking history showcased at new exhibition

Visitors to the Shanghai Center, the tallest building in China, are now able to learn about the city's achievements in filmmaking at an exhibition presented by the Shanghai Film Museum that is ongoing till March 18.

The city is considered the epicenter of China's filmmaking industry. Shanghai was where China's first feature film was created and it is also the home of the nation's first cinema.

The exhibition at the 119th floor of the Shanghai Center showcases 30 artifacts, including a Newall 35 mm studio camera, one of the most important items in the museum's collection. Manufactured in the United Kingdom in the 1930s, the camera was used in the filming of important Chinese movies such as Three Modern Women, Goddess and Wild Flowers by the Road.

The camera was also used in the famous 1935 movie Children of Troubled Times that had a theme song, March of the Volunteers, which was later adopted as China's national anthem. According to Ren Zhonglun, president of the Shanghai Film Group, China is the only country in the world to have its national anthem come from a film.

Since its opening in 2013, the Shanghai Film Museum has been a popular venue for film lovers and tourists from all over the world, attracting more than 200,000 visitors every year, according to the museum director Fan Yirong.

The Shanghai Film Museum, which occupies 15,000 square meters, features four stories that each contains an exhibition hall. Visitors can learn more about the filmmaking process through interactive games and voice acting facilities.

A bronze sculpture at the front of the main building, which depicts soldiers, workers and peasants, is the most noteworthy element of the museum. It also used to be the official logo for the Shanghai Film Studio.

Original manuscripts for the 1963 animation film Monkey King, which marked a milestone in the progress of Chinese animation, are among the most valued artifacts in the museum, said Ren.

A special exhibition featuring Zheng Junli (1911-1969), an actor and director remembered for his film creations that often shone light on social problems, is currently taking place at the museum. A working scene from the making of his film Crows and Sparrows has been reproduced and presented as part of the exhibition.

The memorial exhibition also features artifacts he once used, such as the notes he wrote during the making of his celebrated films, pictures of him at the filming sites and manuscripts of his translated work An Actor Prepares by Konstantin Stanislavski.