Reflections of China

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Reflections of China is a movie located within the China pavilion, within Epcot.

Reflections of China
ReflectionsChina.jpg
The entrance sign for Reflections of China.
Epcot
Land World Showcase
Attraction type Circle Vision 360 Film
Opening date May 22, 2003
Ride duration 12:30 minutes
Formally Known As Wonders of China
FastPass + No
Sponsored by Kodak

Attraction History

In the late 1970s, with most of the planning for World Showcase complete, Disney approached the People's Republic of China about creating a travelogue video for the China pavilion [1]. Although interested, the Chinese government was concerned about giving Westerners permission to film their country. In fact, China originally insisted that all of Disney’s filming be strictly supervised, and they refused to let Imagineers take aerial shots of Tibet or the Great Wall [1]. Disney was uncomfortable with this agreement, and after showing Chinese officials the movie Fantasia, they were able to acquire more freedom[1].

After two months of scouting, filming of the film began in the fall of 1981[1]. The film was shot in Circle Vision 360, which required crews to film on nine cameras, which were stationed on a platform. Imagineers returned to China in the winter of 1982, to record the seasonal changes, before concluding filming in the spring[1]. In order to make the film more interesting, Disney decided to use the famous Chinese poet, Li Bai (also known as Li Po) as the films narrator. Li Bai (who is known as Li Po in the West) [2] wrote over 1,000 poems during the Tang Period[1].

The completed Wonders of China film was approximately 19 minutes long, and it featured parts of China that had never been seen by most Westerners [1]. The film opened with the rest of World Showcase on October 1, 1982. The film remained unchanged until 2002. By 2002, China had become both an industrial country and a popular tourist attraction. With these changes, Wonders of China began to seem dated. Imagineers eventually decided that they needed to update the film, and on March 25, 2002 the Wonders of China was shown for the final time [2].

On May 23, 2003 an updated version of Wonders of China made its debut in the China pavilion [1]. The new film, known as Reflections of China, now featured Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Macau. Other scenes, including the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square, Beijing, Harbin, and Urumqi were all updated for the 21st century [1]. For the refurbishment, all of the narration was re-dubbed, and a new score was composed by Richard Bellis [2]. Since 2003, Reflections of China has not experienced any changes.

Casting Li Po=

According to director Jeff Blyth:

I chose Li Po, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, to be our guide and on-camera narrator. This might seem like the equivalent of using Shakespeare to narrate a film on present day England, but I deliberately chose a historic figure so that the words he spoke would not seem to some conservative members of the audience like the official party line. [3]

When Disney and the People's Republic of China were negotiating filming accessibility, veteran Chinese actor Shih Kuan was China's chief negotiator [4]. Kuan originally chose the actor who would play Li Po in the film [4].. However, when the actor demanded he be paid in the weeks between shootings, Director Jeff Blyth told Kuan that either he would play Li Po or Disney would fly to Hong Kong and cast someone else[4].. Eventually, Shih Kuan relented and agreed to portray Li Po.

Film Plot [1]

The scenes in the current version of Reflections of China are:

  • The Great Wall at Jinshanling
  • Shanghai from the Bund with a view of Pudong
  • Shanghai montage
  • Nanjing Road, Shanghai
  • Shanghai from the riverfront park
  • Huangpu waterfront
  • Morning exercises in Hangzhou
  • Huangshan mountain
  • Li Bai's study
  • Yangtze River
  • Suzhou canals and garden
  • Heavenly Lake in wilderness of Xinjiang Province
  • Urumqi night market
  • Gobi Desert, Gansu Province
  • Inner Mongolia
  • Yunnan Province
  • Shilin Stone Forest, Yunnan Province
  • Harbin Ice Festival, Heilongjiang Province
  • Macau
  • Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong skyline
  • Dragon Wall in Behai Park, Beijing
  • Terracotta Soldiers
  • Ming Tomb Statues
  • Giant Buddah of Leshan
  • Peking Opera performing "Havoc in Heaven"
  • Forbidden City in Beijing
  • Tien An Men Square in Beijing
  • Behai Park, Beijing
  • Reed Flute Cave at Guilin
  • Limestone formations at Guilin
  • The Li River
  • The Great Wall at Jinshanling

Watch the Film

To see the Reflections of China film, click play below:

Fun Facts and Trivia

  • Veteran actor Keye Luke, portrayed Li Bai in the Wonders of China film.
  • Many of Luke's original scenes were re-dubbed by a new actor when the film became Reflections of China.
  • When filming the Huangshan Mountain sequence, over three dozen locals were hired to lift a 300-pound camera up 16,700 stone steps.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/walt_disney_world/theme_parks/epcot/china/
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 The EPCOT explorer's encyclopedia: R. Pedersen - Epcyclopedia Press - 2011
  3. Viner, Michael, and Terrie Maxine. Frankel. Tales from the Casting Couch: An Unprecedented Candid Collection of Stories, Essays, and Anecdotes by and about Legendary Hollywood Stars, Starlets, and Wanna-bes--. Beverly Hills, CA: Dove, 1995. Print. Pages 68-69
  4. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named casting