Hero: From Hengdian to Jiuzhaigou

In Hero, Nameless comes to the Qin capital to face a king who has survived several assassination attempts and forbids visitors from approaching within 100 paces. Nameless claims he has killed the assassins and displays their weapons, and the king lets him come closer to tell his story. Zhang Yimou shot the palace scenes not in a real palace but at Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang, using its Imperial Palace Building as the backdrop for the Emperor Qin's palace. The studio is one of the largest outdoor film studios in the world.

Location precision: The pin marks Hengdian World Studios as a whole; the Imperial Palace Building is one set within it.

Visitor guidance: Hengdian's sets are open as theme parks, each with its own entrance fee.

Nameless's story moves to a calligraphy school in a city besieged by the Qin army, where he meets Flying Snow and Broken Sword and, seeking to learn Sword's skill, commissions a scroll with the character for "Sword". According to a location guide, the attack on the school was filmed at Dangjin Mountain in Aksai, near old Dunhuang City. This is also where you'll find wind-blasted desert rock formations, and the area is now promoted as a tourist destination.

Location precision: The guide names Dangjin Mountain in Aksai near old Dunhuang without an exact site, so the stop is left unpinned.

Flying Snow fights her pupil Moon among fluttering autumn leaves. In the story, Snow kills Moon when she seeks vengeance for Sword. The scene was filmed in an ancient oak grove in Inner Mongolia, and timing was everything: an employee stationed out there called the director the moment the leaves turned a perfect shade of gold.

Location precision: The guide names only an ancient oak grove in Inner Mongolia, so the stop is left unpinned.

The fight between Nameless and Broken Sword above the lake was filmed in Jiuzhaigou. The pavilion for Flying Snow's body was built at the lake. Filming the complex fight was limited to two hours a day, between ten and noon, because only then is the water perfectly still. Arrow Bamboo Lake is a shallow lake with a depth of 6 m, at an elevation of 2,618 m, and the Jiuzhaigou guide calls it a main feature site for the film.

Visitor guidance: Jiuzhaigou is a nature reserve with certain visiting restrictions.

In the film's 'green' sequence, Broken Sword and Flying Snow meet at a waterfall in Jiuzhaigou. A location guide identifies it as Nuorilang Falls, where two valleys merge into Shuzheng Gully. The waterfall lies in the middle of Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan Province, and it is still the widest waterfall in China. Roads for shuttle buses and wooden boardwalks run through the valleys.

Visitor guidance: Jiuzhaigou is a nature reserve with certain visiting restrictions.