"Masters in the Forbidden City," a documentary film about restoration professionals in the iconic imperial palace in China, is set for release on Dec. 16.
The documentary is the first of its kind to "completely comb the history of Chinese antiquities restoration," wrote China Daily. It was directed by Xiao Han, who said that he intends to showcase to the world China's history not only through this film but his succeeding projects as well.
"I wanted to tell world audiences a purely Chinese story via this film. This is the goal for not only 'Masters in Forbidden City,' but also my other film projects," Han told China Daily.
Called "Wo Zai Gu Gong Xiu Wen Wu" in Chinese, "Masters in the Forbidden City" was first shown on China Central Television in January and ran for three episodes. The TV show also garnered a following online, scooping up more than 2 million views. It was also named as one of the "most influential documentaries," per China Daily.
The Forbidden City, which now houses the Palace Museum, used to be the home of China's emperors and became the political melting pot of the government for about 500 years. It showcases the country's traditional palatial construction, which is said to have influenced East Asia's own design and architecture.
"Masters in the Forbidden City" will be facing big-budgeted Chinese-American movie "The Great Wall" on Friday. Directed by Zhang Yimou, the latter film takes a fictional-historical approach as the main characters fight for humanity while standing atop the Great Wall of China.
Despite sharing the same release date as "The Great Wall," "Forbidden City" director Han is unfazed.
He stressed that he does not worry about the race to ticket sales and said that he would continue to film similar documentaries regardless of box-office records.