Maps of Movies
The Great Wall (2016)
Where The Great Wall says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Where the film put the Great Wall: not on it, but in Qingdao, on sets built because the real Wall could not be used
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Scenes and places
Attacked a few miles north of the Wall
European mercenaries searching for gunpowder cross into China. A monster attacks them, and only William Garin and Pero Tovar survive, cutting off its arm and keeping it.
Set in North of the Great Wall — Open country a few miles north of the Wall, where the European mercenaries are ambushed.
The film gives no named place for this, only 'a few miles north of the Great Wall'.
Prisoners of the Nameless Order
Garin and Tovar reach the Wall and are taken prisoner by the Nameless Order, a force that exists to fight alien monsters called Tao Tei. The Order's commanders are caught off guard when the monsters' first assault comes a week early.
Set in The Wall fortress of the Nameless Order — The fortress on the Great Wall where the Nameless Order is stationed.
The film's Wall fortress was not the real Great Wall: it was a set built for the production. The photo shows a real stretch of the Wall at Mutianyu, near Beijing.
Filmed at Qingdao, Shandong (set built for the film) (Shandong, Qingdao, China) — Principal photography took place on location in Qingdao, where three wall sets were built because the real Great Wall could not be used. Which part of the film was shot at which set is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Tao Tei storm the Wall
A horde of Tao Tei assails the Wall. Garin and Tovar are freed by Ballard, an Englishman, and their fighting saves the life of the young warrior Peng Yong, which earns the Order's respect.
Set in Battle on the Great Wall — The top and face of the Wall, where the horde of Tao Tei assaults the defenders.
The battle takes place on the Wall itself; the photo shows a real stretch at Mutianyu, not the film's set.
Filmed at Qingdao, Shandong (set built for the film) (Shandong, Qingdao, China) — The same Qingdao wall sets are the film's only documented shooting location; which set was used for the battle is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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After the battle: Ballard and the gunpowder
The three Europeans, now with Ballard among them, secretly plan to steal gunpowder and flee during the next monster attack. Meanwhile Garin and Commander Lin start to measure each other: a man who fights for pay and a soldier who fights for something more.
Set in Inside the Wall fortress — The fortress interior after the battle, where the Order hosts its Western guests.
The film's quiet stretch between two attacks, inside the Order's base.
Filmed at Qingdao, Shandong (set built for the film) (Shandong, Qingdao, China) — The fortress interiors fall under the same Qingdao sets; the film's individual rooms are not matched to a place in the sources. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Taking a Tao Tei alive
A scroll from the capital suggests that magnets pacify the Tao Tei, and the strategist Wang thinks Garin's magnetic stone explains how he killed one. To test it, Garin and the Order set out to capture a Tao Tei alive, which delays the escape plan and angers Tovar.
Set in On the Wall — The Wall again, where the Order tests its magnet theory on a live monster.
Another fight on the Wall, but this time the goal is to take a monster alive rather than kill it.
Filmed at Qingdao, Shandong (set built for the film) (Shandong, Qingdao, China) — Shot with the same Qingdao wall sets; the sources do not say which scenes were shot at which set. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Gunpowder stolen, and lost
While Lin investigates a tunnel at the base of the Wall, Tovar and Ballard steal the black powder and escape, knocking Garin unconscious for trying to stop them. Garin is jailed for his apparent betrayal. Further off, Ballard is captured by bandits who accidentally set off the powder.
Set in Roads and hideout beyond the Wall — Open country away from the Wall, where Tovar and Ballard flee with the black powder.
The film gives no named place for this stretch of the story.
The monster arrives in the capital
At the capital, the Imperial envoy presents the captured Tao Tei to the Emperor. The creature awakens and reveals its position to its queen, who signals the horde to attack.
Set in The imperial capital — The capital city and the Emperor's court.
The capital is a fictional location in the film; the sources name no real city for it.
The balloon flight and the tower
Lin orders hot-air balloons to rush a warning to the capital and sets Garin free before embarking. The plan to end the attack is to tie explosives to the captured Tao Tei and have it carry them to its queen, with Lin and Garin climbing a tower so he can detonate them with an explosive arrow.
Set in A tower in the capital — The tower where the Order makes its stand against the Tao Tei queen.
The film's final stand takes place at a tall tower in the capital.
Filmed at China Film Group Studios, Huairou, near Beijing (Huairou, Beijing, China) — Not matched to a scene Google Maps · Apple Maps
Characters
- William Garin — An Irish mercenary who comes to China searching for gunpowder.
- Pero Tovar — A Spanish mercenary and Garin's companion.
- Commander Lin — A commander of the Nameless Order, which fights the Tao Tei.
- Ballard — An Englishman who came east twenty-five years earlier and has stayed ever since.
Questions answered on the map
- Where was The Great Wall's Great Wall really built?