International students explore real-life inspirations behind Chinese fantasy epic film

Dressed in traditional Chinese attire, greeting each other as people did in ancient times, and slurping up local noodle dishes, three international students studying in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, embarked on a train trip to Qishan County, the legendary setting of the Chinese fantasy epic film "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force", to explore its real-life inspirations and experience traditional Chinese culture.

"Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force," is the second installment of China's blockbuster mythological trilogy, which is based on the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) novel "Fengshen Yanyi (The Investiture of the Gods)". The trilogy depicts the fall of the Shang Dynasty and the rise of the Zhou Dynasty in the 11th century B.C., weaving together battles between mortals, deities, and demons.

The students shared their excitement about the trip, highlighting the opportunities the movie provided to deepen their understanding of Chinese culture.

"I'm so excited because it's my first trip on a high-speed train in China. I can't believe the city from this movie - Xiqi City - exists in real life, and we can see it in reality," said Dilnaz Kadyrma, an international student from Kazakhstan studying at Northwestern Polytechnical University.

"The movie's really important when you really want to understand certain things about Chinese culture," said Johnpaul Ogochukwu Igbonaju, an international student from Nigeria studying at Northwestern Polytechnical University.

The train they take running between Xi'an to Qishan has transformed one of its carriages into a "Creation of the Gods II" themed experience, giving passengers a taste of the history and culture that make Qishan so captivating.

"It's pretty exciting to see all these decorations. It kind of puts you in the genuine vibe," said Erik Grigoryan, an international student from Armenia studying at Northwestern Polytechnical University.

After arriving in Qishan, the students were welcomed with a ceremony performed by actors dressed just like in the movie. They explored a history dating back over 2,000 years, including the first recorded appearance of the word "China" on bronze artifacts.

"It shows very unique traditional Chinese culture. I highly recommend all tourists, also for foreigners to visit here," said Dilnaz.

International students explore real-life inspirations behind Chinese fantasy epic film

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight