Visiting and playing one's favorite TV drama roles at the Hengdian World Studios, known as China's Hollywood in east China's Zhejiang Province, has helped local tourism sector to reap a windfall.
As the filming location for nearly 100 films and TV dramas, "The Palace of Emperor Qin" shooting scene at Hengdian World Studios has intrigued numerous visitors to come and take photos there.
During the summer vacation, the number of tourists at "The Palace of Emperor Qin" is about 20 percent higher than usual. The average daily visitor flow on weekends topped 10,000 people.
"I usually watch a lot of TV series, so I wanted to come and experience the atmosphere of the ancient city. The scenery is quite recreated, and I've seen these kinds of scenes in many dramas before," said a tourist.
Visitors can have a filming experience at "Qing Ming Shang He Tu", another shooting scene at Hengdian World Studios.
"I just wanted to have the experience of acting, because I've always imagined about acting in those historical dramas, wondering how the scenes would be. I played a role as a boss, and I felt quite well." said another tourist.
As night fell, the Guangzhou Street and Hong Kong Street Scenic Area in Hengdian World Studios was staging a grand nighttime performance.
"The integration of sound and light here is good. People can be more immersed in the performance, because we usually can't be so immersive," said a tourist.
In the summer holiday, many students in study tours came to Hengdian World Studios to experience micro film shooting. Zhang Jinquan, a micro film director, said they started shooting from 07:00 these days. "At the busiest time, there could be up to 40 micro film shootings per day, with each shooting lasting around two and a half hours. With the increasing volume of shootings, the wages for all of us will also increase accordingly. Based on the current data, we estimate a year-on-year increase of around 15 percent," said Zhang.
Many Hanfu (traditional Chinese costumes) shops in Hengdian have welcomed a large number of tourists, offering clothing and makeup services for them.
Hotels in Hengdian have also seen a large flow of guests in this summer. In the lobby of a Shanghai-style hotel, many tourists were checking in.
A hotel manager said that in addition to creating a movie and TV theme hotel in the style of old Shanghai, they also provided guests with ticket discounts of the scenic area.
"This style gives me a feeling of going back to the old times of Shanghai, providing an eye-opening feeling. I am quite satisfied. The facilities, hardware and software are both very good, I would bring other family members to visit," said a guest.
"Compared to the usual time, the hotel occupancy rate during the summer holiday will generally see an increase of around 10 percent to 20 percent," said Kong Xiaofang, manager of the hotel.
Immersive role-playing tours to "Chinese Hollywood" boost local tourism
Immersive role-playing tours to "Chinese Hollywood" boost local tourism
A 25 percent import tariff on all foreign-built vehicles entering the United States has raised serious concerns for manufacturers in South Africa.
Automotive giants like Mercedes and BMW have long used South Africa as a base for global exports -- but those plans may be shifting into reverse gear after the U.S. announced the punitive measures.
"If you take, for example, BMW, 97 percent of the X3 that we are producing in Rosslyn is exported out of the country. We only sell 3 percent in South Africa, and there's a huge number of those vehicles that also go into the U.S. So there are companies in South Africa that are purely here not because they are selling vehicles in South Africa; they are here to produce vehicles for the global market, and it's important for them to remain globally competitive," said Mike Mabasa, CEO of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa.
U.S. automaker Ford, which has deep roots in South Africa, is also in the crosshairs.
The company recently invested over 300 million U.S. dollars to upgrade its Silverton plant in Pretoria, South Africa, for the production of the world's only plug-in hybrid Ranger, which has just entered production but could face delays or restrictions.
"If an American citizen wants to buy specifically a Ford Ranger that is a plug-in hybrid, they can only place an order in South Africa, nowhere else in the world. So, that means, obviously, the capacity of Ford to be able to produce those vehicles in big volumes is going to be constrained, because Americans are going be looking at another Ford that is produced in another country, or even in the United States," said Mabasa.
South Africa has long enjoyed duty-free automotive exports to the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, but that relationship now hangs in the balance.
A sharp shift in U.S. foreign policy threatens to derail an industry that employs thousands and contributes around 5 percent to the country's economy.
"We produce less than 1 percent of global automotive vehicles, so to say. So, in reality, the impact on us is likely to be more disproportionate than those of our peers that produce at the same level. And the risk is actually created -- a concentration risk -- in countries that have greater capacity and are building more; in those countries will be able to absorb some of this," said Parks Tau, South Africa's minister of trade and industry.
Amid growing concerns about overreliance on the U.S. market, Amith Singh, national manager for manufacturing at Nedbank Commercial Bank, emphasized the importance of tapping into regional trade opportunities.
"I think we need to make better use of some of our local agreements, our African continental agreements. How do we leverage that? How do we partner with the government and private sector to start benefiting the countries and the economies aside from the United States? So, those could be the catalyst to drive our localization projects; it could be what we need to drive the African economy as opposed to being completely reliant on the States (United States)," he said.
South Africa is for now standing firm in its decision not to retaliate against steep U.S. import tariffs, set to take effect in just a few days.
Officials in Pretoria acknowledge the challenges posed by the current U.S. administration but are pursuing a diplomatic approach in hopes of maintaining stable relations and preserving the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
US tariffs rock South Africa’s auto industry
