Director in Hollywood

After signing the cooperation agreement, Gilbert and Kane Wexman immediately set off, with their first stop being Qingdao.

Initially, the proposal was to build the studio in either Beijing or Hengdian. However, after conducting an on-site assessment, Gilbert found these existing studios too outdated to meet the filming requirements.

Thus, he decided to construct two large-scale, modern studios, choosing Qingdao as the location.

No one had expected him to select Qingdao. Many tried to persuade him to place the studios in Beijing or Hengdian instead, but Gilbert remained firm in his decision, believing that Qingdao had its own unique advantages.

Since Gilbert was determined, there was no further opposition. Everyone cooperated, and the local government in Qingdao immediately allocated a large plot of land for the studio's construction.

Building the studios required funding. However, to attract the project, the Qingdao authorities assisted with some costs, allowing the production team to complete the construction with just $300,000.

The cost was mainly due to the need to import some advanced equipment from North America for the modern facilities.

In a way, Gilbert was helping his hometown acquire a set of cutting-edge studio equipment—but, of course, not for free.

According to the prior agreement, the studios would be fully owned by The Lord of the Rings production company. After filming was completed, they could be rented out to recover construction costs and eventually turn a profit.

After operating for a set period, The Lord of the Rings production company would gradually transfer ownership, allowing a Chinese company to take over the studio's management.

While Gilbert had sentimental ties to his homeland, he was still a foreign investor. If he had offered everything for free with no financial considerations, it might have raised suspicions instead.

Sure enough, when Kane stated that the studios would belong to their production company and would be run for profit, the officials in charge simply smiled knowingly, without any doubt about their intentions.

The studio work was only one part of the production. Gilbert also needed extensive on-location shooting and had to find a site for constructing Minas Tirith.

"I need a location with mountains in the back and rolling hills and plains in the front to build the White City," Gilbert explained.

One of the accompanying experts examined his hand-drawn sketch and remarked, "This looks a lot like Mont Saint-Michel in France."

"I'm surprised you know that," Gilbert chuckled. "That's right, I based the White City's design on Mont Saint-Michel."

The scale of such a city was beyond what the experts could even imagine.

In fact, similar locations were not difficult to find. However, building such a massive film set required a location with convenient transportation.

If it were in a remote mountainous plateau with little access, construction would be too difficult, and the extended timeline would delay production.

Taking these factors into account, Gilbert selected a site northeast of the Xilingol Grassland, near the Greater Khingan Mountains.

Several locations around Aershan, an extension of the mountain range, perfectly matched Gilbert's vision.

After thorough selection, he chose a specific site known locally as Gazi Mountain.

The area featured vast plains in the foreground, with a plateau nearby. Although the mountain itself wasn't very tall, a highway ran through the area, and a railway station was not far away, making construction feasible.

Additionally, the mountain's appearance could be modified using visual effects in post-production.

The method would involve filming a grand snow-covered cliff in another location and seamlessly integrating it with the Minas Tirith set through visual effects.

A few years ago, this would have been a challenging technical feat, but with advancements in computing power and rapid developments in the VFX industry, it was no longer an issue.

With the location decided, construction crews immediately moved in and began building with great enthusiasm.

According to Gilbert's plan, the city needed to be completed around the year 2000, making the schedule quite tight. However, the project manager assured him that as long as the necessary funds and workforce were in place, construction would not be a problem.

Gilbert had full confidence in China's legendary infrastructure capabilities.

Since they were already in the Xilingol Grassland, Gilbert also scouted a few locations nearby for the set of Rohan's capital.

If they were already constructing Minas Tirith, there was no reason to film Rohan's capital in a studio—he decided to film everything on location instead.

Future visitors might find it amusing that in the middle of a land filled with Eastern cultural heritage, several distinctly Western-style landmarks suddenly appeared. It had an almost ironic sense of humor to it.

After work began on Minas Tirith, Gilbert and Kane headed south, arriving in Shangri-La, Diqing, Yunnan.

In the West, Shangri-La was already somewhat well-known, thanks to accounts from several explorers who had described it as an earthly paradise.

The region boasted highland meadows, primeval forests, deep valleys, alpine lakes, snowy highways, and expansive wilderness—an array of stunning natural landscapes.

Kane was visiting for the first time. Upon seeing the magnificent Meili Snow Mountain, he was awestruck.

"This place has everything we need for our filming," he told Gilbert. "I don't think we need to go anywhere else."

But Gilbert disagreed. "Kane, it's too early to say that. There are many more beautiful places beyond this."

There was no need to travel all the way to Iceland for glacier and snow-capped mountain scenery—Shangri-La had it all. The crew could shoot everything they needed right here.

Since it was purely an outdoor filming location with no need for constructed sets, the natural beauty of the area could be preserved to the greatest extent.

The only concern was the difficulty of transportation at this time. Logistical support would be a challenge. However, the accompanying team reassured them that once the filming location was confirmed, logistical issues could be resolved.

With just Shangri-La, they could complete most of the necessary outdoor scenes without having to travel to too many different places.

However, some specific locations still needed further scouting.

Jiuzhaigou, a renowned scenic area, was ultimately chosen as the filming location for Rivendell.

Jiuzhaigou consisted of four main valleys: Shuzheng Valley, Zechawa Valley, Rize Valley, and Zharu Valley, each containing numerous scenic spots of varying sizes.

The area is characterized by its highland calcium carbonate lakes, cascading calcium waterfalls, and travertine terraces. These water features are vast in scale, diverse in form, abundant in number, aesthetically pleasing, and set in a pristine environment.

As a filming location, this place was undoubtedly ideal. However, to preserve the natural landscape, the local authorities did not permit the crew to construct elven dwellings here.

But this was not an issue, as these structures could be built on a soundstage instead.

Another elven dwelling location was chosen at Luyang Lake Wetland Park in Jiangdu District, Yangzhou. This area had previously been wasteland but had since been transformed into a forest park, mainly consisting of cypress trees.

As they entered the park, they saw crisscrossing rivers, scattered fish ponds, and clear waters. The scenery was picturesque, the forest dense, and the air fresh, making it feel like a natural oxygen bar.

The park's water cypress forest was particularly unique. Thousands of cypress trees stood straight in the water, forming neat formations that looked like mighty soldiers lined up for inspection.

The forest floor was submerged in nearly a meter of water, with a few brightly colored small boats floating on the surface, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere.

This was designated as the residence of Queen Galadriel. As with Rivendell, some parts of the setting would be constructed on a soundstage.

In reality, aside from the Hobbit village, Minas Tirith, and a few other structures requiring full-scale sets, most of the locations would be filmed using soundstages.

After all, building everything on-site would be excessive. It was still necessary to use visual effects where appropriate—there was no need to insist on filming everything on location.

The Hobbit village was set in Tinghua Valley in Baisha Town, Yunnan, at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Gilbert discovered this place by chance. After leaving Shangri-La, he and Kane were advised by their guide to visit Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Though the mountain was shrouded in mist, Gilbert noticed Tinghua Valley instead.

The scenery was exquisite, with a sea of flowers covering the landscape—roses, hydrangeas, lavender, and sunflowers stretching across the hills, forming a stunning picture.

On clear days, the snow-capped mountains in the distance merged with Tinghua Valley, creating a scene straight out of a movie.

Unlike Shangri-La, this location could accommodate construction.

Since the Hobbit houses needed to be integrated with nature—given that Hobbits love nature and avoid large-scale destruction of the landscape—Tinghua Valley was chosen as the site for the Shire.

Once built, this place was bound to become a popular tourist destination in the decades to come.

Following this, Gilbert and Kane traveled across China, visiting its most famous mountains and rivers.

The karst landscapes of the Li River in Yangshuo, the vast Chaka Salt Lake, the stunning Anjihai Grand Canyon, the Three Gorges, the mystical Shennongjia, the breathtaking Wulingyuan, the expansive Baili Azalea Scenic Area in Bijie, and the magnificent Huangguoshu Waterfall were all selected as filming locations.

Though it was officially a location scouting trip, Gilbert and Kane seemed to be on a sightseeing tour, as if they were on vacation.

Tian Congming rushed from Beijing to meet Gilbert in Urho Ghost City.

After just finishing a visit to the Altai Mountains, Gilbert saw the hurried arrival of Tian Congming and smiled. "Mr. Tian, we will be traveling across half of China in the future."

Tian Congming glanced at Gilbert's filming plans and was shocked to find that so many scenic locations were included.

Many of these places he had never even heard of, yet Gilbert had carefully selected each one.

"This place is a filming location too?" Tian Congming asked.

Urho Ghost City is a unique landscape featuring gobi deserts, wind-carved rock formations, natural asphalt, vibrant sunrises, and mirages.

The region's striking terrain was formed by relentless winds carrying sand and pebbles, constantly eroding, colliding with, and scouring the rock formations, creating eerie sounds—hence its name, Ghost City.

Certain parts of the Ghost City were located in wind corridors where gusts could reach force 10 to 12.

The reason for choosing this place was obvious—it would serve as the filming location for Sauron's Mordor.

Of course, the terrain was likely to differ significantly from the original film's depiction of Mordor.

But since the audience wouldn't know what the original was supposed to look like, Gilbert was free to craft his own vision of the landscape.

After all, Peter Jackson didn't find a real "Mount Doom" either; most of his Mordor scenes were achieved through special effects.

Gilbert said, "This is the first time I've traveled so thoroughly across China, Mr. Tian. When we start filming here, our crew of several thousand people will have enormous needs, so I'll be counting on you to help with arrangements."

Tian Congming agreed without hesitation. "Rest assured, that won't be a problem."

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