East Palace, West Palace

East Palace, West Palace
Traditional Chinese東宮西宮
Simplified Chinese东宫西宫
Hanyu PinyinDōng Gōng Xī Gōng
Directed byZhang Yuan
Written byWang Xiaobo
Zhang Yuan
Produced byChristophe Jung
Christophe Ménager
Zhang Yuan
Willy Tsao
StarringSi Han
Hu Jun
Zhao Wei
CinematographyZhang Jian
Edited byVincent Lévy
Music byXiang Min
Distributed byFortissimo Films
Release date
Running time
94 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin

East Palace, West Palace (Chinese: 东宫西宫; pinyin: Dōng gōng xī gōng) is a 1996 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yuan, starring Hu Jun and Si Han, and based on a short story by writer Wang Xiaobo. It is also known as Behind the Forbidden City or Behind the Palace Gates.[1]

East Palace, West Palace is the first mainland Chinese movie with an explicitly homosexual theme.[2] The title of the movie is derived from the two parks near the Forbidden City—the East Palace and the West Palace. The parks, specifically their public washrooms, are well-known for being places of nighttime congregation for homosexuals.[3]

  1. ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (2008-07-24). "Movies - East Palace, West Palace (1997)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  2. ^ Elley, Derek (1997-05-18). "East Palace, West Palace Review". Variety.
  3. ^ Spencer, Charles (2009-02-20). "An erotic relationship of convenience". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 15 June 2010.