Movie fans have a few more weeks to tour the set in New Taipei City (新北市) used to shoot a number of the pivotal scenes in Taiwan’s first epic film, Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale, because the date to close the film set has been postponed until late next month.
In response to the popularity of the site for local and foreign visitors, the New Taipei City Government — which has been managing the site since it was donated by the film crew — has decided to extend the period for visiting the site.
Opened to the public in September last year, the film site recreated a 1930s street and school from the central Taiwan town where a Sediq Aborigine uprising against Japanese rule occurred.
The 3.5 hectare NT$80 million (US$2.7 million) set was built on a hill in the suburb of Linkou (林口) by a Japanese arts production team led by Yohei Taneda.
Visitors can stroll down the main street and walk inside a number of Japanese-style wooden houses where the film’s main characters left their footprints.
Many of the 36 houses are adorned with props, such as old books and household accessories, to recreate the scenes from the blockbuster movie.
Sediq costumes are also available for visitors to wear so they can have a more personal historical experience.
To date, the site — which was previously scheduled to be closed yesterday — has attracted more than 280,000 visitors, the city government said.
Most of the foreign visitors have been from China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, city government officials said.
“Considering the popularity among the public and the condition of these temporary structures, we decided to keep the set open until March 20,” an official said. “We will make a final decision by the end of February on how to deal with the movie set after it is closed.”
Options include relocating the structures or simply demolishing them.
The NT$700 million film was well-received in Taiwan, taking in NT$23 million when it debuted on Sept. 9 last year, the most ever for a Taiwanese film.
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