Yongle Palace: film tourism boom

China Daily reported that the term "Yongle" recurs throughout the film, tying the story to real-world landmarks including Yongle Town and Yongle Palace itself; key scenes are modeled directly on two Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) murals — Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea and Chaoyuan Tu, a depiction of Taoist deities paying homage to the heavenly court — which adorn the walls of the palace's Chunyang Hall and Sanqing Hall.[1]

The palace was built in commemoration of Lyu Dongbin, one of the most renowned of the Eight Immortals; historical records place his birth during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in an area corresponding to present-day Yongle town of Ruicheng county, which was designated the "Hometown of Lyu Zu Culture in China" in 2011.[1]

China Daily noted that Yongle Palace is China's largest and best-preserved Taoist temple complex and among the first sites named to the country's list of nationally protected cultural heritage; its walls hold more than 1,000 square meters of murals, the most complete surviving collection of Yuan Dynasty Taoist murals in China and the largest known repository of ancient mural art in the world.[1]

Bastille Post Global reported that the film, which grossed over one billion yuan (reported as about US$148 million) as of the end of July, has sparked a surge of tourism to Yongle: the palace draws 4,000 visitors daily, up more than 20 percent from June, with movie fans wandering through its halls comparing murals with scenes from the film.[2]