The city wall offers visitors a panoramic view of the city in Xiangshan, Zhejiang province.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The Water Curtain Cave, an enormous artificial karst cave, is one of the sets for Journey to the West by director Zhang Jizhong. In the classical novel, Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) used to live in the cave with fellow monkeys before accompanying the monk Xuanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India. Outside the cave near a 30-meter-high waterfall, tourists can rest and take pictures with actors playing Xuanzang and his disciples, Monkey King, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing.

Visitors can also take up a sword in the outdoor theater by volunteering to play classical roles in Louis Cha Leung-yung's novels. Cha, who is better-known by his pen name Jin Yong, is a novelist famous for his Chinese language martial arts fiction.

When some in the audiences volunteer to play Yang Guo and his wife the Little Dragon Maiden from The Return of the Condor Heroes, fighting villains, things get lively with splashing water and an explosion in the thatched cottage, all done with special-effects technology.

"Such interactions will make tourists feel connected to movies and television and have a better experience," Chen says.

There are three kinds of movie and television studios, he says. Some are only for tourists, some are only for crews and some are for both.

The local farmers are becoming rich by opening restaurants, budget hotels and stores as the city draws more than 30 film and television crews every year.

"I shot many of my works here," says director Zhang Jizhong, who is shooting his latest martial arts TV show Ode to Gallantry in Xiangshan. "I like Xiangshan very much. The transportation is more convenient now and I believe it will be more popular."

Chen believes there are two centers of film and television studios - Beijing and the Yangtze River Delta. The studios in the delta area, including Xiangshan and Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang province, should work together, he says.

"The secret of our success is to meet the different demands of the crews and tourists. The crews often come back because of our good air, fresh seafood and perfect facilities."

If you go

It takes about 50 minutes from Ningbo and three hours from Hangzhou by car to reach Xiangshan county. Xiangshan has rich marine tourism resources, such as its 36 beaches and 656 islands. It's also known as a "natural oxygen bar" due to its heavy forest coverage. It's easy to find cheap accommodation and food in the studio. Don't forget to bring sunscreen and insect repellent in summer. If you are lucky, you may bump into your favorite stars on the sets.