The attractions in Hengdian Film and Television City are not all in one single scenic area, but divided into several parks.

The largest park includes Qin Palace, Qingming River Painting and Dream Valley; this was the original Hengdian Film and Television City.

But now, Hengdian Film and Television City also includes other scenic areas such as the Ming and Qing Residential Buildings Exhibition City, Long March Expo City, Yuanming New Garden, Ming and Qing Palace, Port City District and so on.

You could say it covers everything from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period to the Modern Republic era; it has everything you can think of. It's also the film city with the most crews, the most extras, the largest area, the most sets, the most tourists, and the most celebrities.

The modern-day scenes of Zhao Xiaodao's new drama are shot in the Qin Palace and Qingming River Painting areas, so she brought Lu Zheng and the others to this main park first for a visit.

...

Zhao Xiaodao has been filming in Hengdian for more than just one or two years; she's already very familiar with the layout here, so when she acts as a tour guide, she's pretty proficient.

"This is the Qin Palace scenic area. 'Jing Ke Stabs the King of Qin' and 'Hero', and also 'Emperor Wu of Han', were all filmed here."

"This is Qin Han Street."

"This is the Library Pavilion, and this is the little tavern where Nameless and Changkong sparred."

"This is the Four Seas Unification Hall."

In these scenic spots, some are open to tourists for sightseeing and fun, while some are fenced off with crews still shooting inside.

Zhao Xiaodao shook her head. "There are way fewer costume dramas than before now. Most of the crews are over in Republic City."

Shen Ying chimed in with a grin, "I know that one. I've seen it online — every year it's the place with the highest death toll for those little islanders."

"Exactly!" Zhao Xiaodao nodded. "It's a meme, but it's not wrong. If you go look at the entrance to Republic City, that's also where the most extras are."

Chatting as they walked, they took in the sights. As the largest film city in Hua Country, Hengdian doesn't only have these static landscapes; of course there are also many high-tech experiences and live shows to attract tourists.

And naturally, putting on a set of ancient costumes for photos is also one of the most popular projects here ever since the film city opened.

"Wanna take some photos?"

"Do you guys want to take a picture as a keepsake?"

Lu Zheng and the others waved their hands to decline, then walked past a crowd of people who had already changed into costumes and were taking pictures.

Come on, if they want ancient-style photos, do they really need to come all the way to Hengdian Film and Television City?

They kept walking and chatting; at noon they casually grabbed a bite in a street area full of food stalls, then went from Qin Palace to Qingming River Painting. It was like going from clashing armor and grand, sweeping vistas to small bridges over running water and everyday human life; the surrounding buildings and gardens all revealed a distinctly delicate and refined touch.

Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying couldn't help but exchange a smile, because when Lu Zheng designed his own courtyard, it clearly had the style of Song Dynasty architecture and gardens.

"Huh, filming again?" Shen Ying saw another fenced-off area ahead, with tourists watching from afar. "Didn't expect it to be this busy here."

This was already the fourth crew they'd run into today.

"Oh, it's the 'Female Doctor Mingxiang' crew." From a distance, Zhao Xiaodao spotted the crew members and recognized them.

"You know them?" Lin Wan asked.

Zhao Xiaodao nodded. "One of the actors in this show is signed to my studio. I think they only started shooting at the beginning of this month. They wanted to invite me to the kick-off ceremony, but I didn't have time."

Zhao Xiaodao has set up her own studio now, and signed one male and one female young artist. On top of that, she herself is a shareholder in several film and television companies, so she's definitely not short on resources.

"Impressive, you've become a big-shot capitalist!" Lu Zheng praised.

Zhao Xiaodao said a bit embarrassedly, "Brother Lu, don't flatter me. What am I, really? Just small-scale stuff, making some hard-earned cash."

She wasn't lying; compared with all those celebrities who register companies left and right and invest in all sorts of things, open restaurants and whatnot, Zhao Xiaodao is indeed pretty low-key and straightforward.

"Just remember not to invest in financial products," Lu Zheng reminded her.

Zhao Xiaodao nodded repeatedly. "Exactly, exactly, so many people got burned. I just put a bit into blue-chip stocks, and then buy some property."

"Solid."

"Hee-hee!"

"Oh right, do you guys want to see the set? I can take you in," Zhao Xiaodao turned back to look at the group.

"Is that okay?" Lin Wan asked.

"No problem at all. We're just going in to take a look, as long as we don't affect their shooting." Zhao Xiaodao smiled. "Honestly, there are always idle people hanging around inside every crew."

Back in the day, Lu Zheng and Lin Wan had gone invisible to watch Zhao Xiaodao filming, so they knew how it worked, but the three girls including Si Lingxi had never seen it before.

"Wanna go take a look?" Lu Zheng asked.

"Let's go then, see what's different from our rehearsals," Shen Ying said with interest.

Compared with Liu Qingyan and Si Lingxi, Shen Ying was actually the most curious about Blue Star; maybe it's because she was the only one who'd been human in her previous life.

"Oh, the difference is huge," Lu Zheng shook his head.

Zhao Xiaodao blinked, not quite understanding what they meant, but she still led them over to the entrance of the fenced-off set.

"Sorry, we're filming inside; Tong Mansion is closed today," the staff member blocked their way and explained.

Zhao Xiaodao took off her sunglasses and mask and said to the staff member, "I'm here to visit the set."

"Zhao—" The staffer blurted out the first syllable of her name, then quickly cut himself off, moved the barricade aside, and ushered them in. "Please, come in, come in!"

When Zhao Xiaodao dropped her disguise, some of the tourists nearby also recognized her. Quite a few of them took out their phones to snap pictures, but by the time they'd opened the camera, Zhao Xiaodao and her group had already gone in.

There was no shortage of people on set: script supervisor, cameraman, lighting, sound, props, makeup, and of course the most important, the director and actors.

Seeing Zhao Xiaodao come in, everyone was startled for a moment, and then a young woman who'd been waiting at the side hurried over. "Sister Xiaodao!"

Zhao Xiaodao turned back to introduce her. "This is my signed artist, Zhao Sisi."

"Hello!" Zhao Sisi greeted them one after another. When she saw the looks and bearing of Si Lingxi, Lin Wan and the other girls, she was stunned. She thought to herself that her boss really has wide connections; these people obviously aren't ordinary.

"You guys carry on; I just brought some friends to see the shoot," Zhao Xiaodao waved her hand.

"Female Doctor Mingxiang" is an online drama set in an alternate history, but in recent years web dramas have been made with increasingly high production values, so this setup was pretty professional. They'd also hired two fairly well-known traffic stars as leads.

Right now, those two little flower and fresh-meat leads were acting in the middle of the courtyard. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Since this scene wasn't done yet, Zhao Xiaodao just gave the director a quick wave from a distance, then led Lu Zheng and the others off to one side to watch.

Shen Ying watched the performance in front of her and shook her head. "The acting's so-so."

"Being able to act normally in front of all this random equipment and so many people is already pretty good," Liu Qingyan said with a nod.

Then they heard the female lead in the scene take the pulse of the middle-aged man in front of her, and say to the male lead beside her, "Your uncle is fine. It's a case of excess heat in the gallbladder and stomach. I'll write a prescription of Banxia Decoction for him; he'll be better in five days."

The male lead nodded again and again and was just about to speak when a voice came from the side. "That's not right."