Maps of Movies
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Where Empire of the Sun says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
The Bund really is Shanghai in 1987, but the prison camp was built in a Spanish river town.
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Scenes and places
The Bund skyline over the Huangpu River (1941)
While a boys' choir sings, the film shows Shanghai across the river. Jim, a young British boy, lives in comfort here, and the film starts from his privileged view of the city.
Set in The Bund, Peace Hotel — The Bund waterfront and the Peace Hotel seen across the Huangpu River. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Shanghai's riverfront boulevard, lined with 1920s and 1930s banks and hotels.
Filmed at The Bund and Peace Hotel, Shanghai — A brief view across the Huangpu River of the Peace Hotel, about two minutes into the film. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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The boys' choir in the cathedral (1941)
Jim sings the solo in the choir, a well-fed boy in a sheltered world. The scene sets up how far he will fall once the war reaches his door.
Set in St. Ignatius Cathedral, Xujiahui — A Catholic cathedral in Xujiahui where the film first shows Jim singing in the choir. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A twin-spired Catholic cathedral in the Xujiahui district of Xuhui.
Filmed at St. Ignatius Cathedral, Xujiahui — Seconds after the Bund shot, the film cuts to the cathedral where Jim sings. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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The Graham family house (1941)
Jim plays with his toy glider and asks his mother whether God being above us means flying. The family dresses for a costume party the next day, unaware their time here is running out.
Set in Graham house, International Settlement — The family's colonial house in Shanghai's International Settlement. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A British family's colonial home in the foreign-run part of Shanghai.
Filmed at Bungalow at Sunningdale, Berkshire (interiors) — A blog says the house interiors were shot in a bungalow at Sunningdale; the exact house is not named. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Bund on the way to the party (1941)
The Grahams drive to a costume party through a tense, crowded city. Jim sees the crowds as a spectacle, while the adults sense something is about to happen.
Set in The Bund, former HSBC building — The Bund in front of the former Hongkong and Shanghai Bank building, packed with people. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The grandest bank building on the Bund, now home to a Chinese bank.
Filmed at The Bund, former HSBC building — The crowd scenes on the Bund, with the former bank building prominent. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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The bridge beside the Bund (1941)
Jim waves at Japanese Zero aircraft overhead, still treating the war as a game. The bridge marks the edge of the foreign settlement.
Set in Garden Bridge (Waibaidu Bridge) — The steel bridge beside the Bund that links the Huangpu and Hongkou districts. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A 1908 steel truss bridge over Suzhou Creek, next to the Bund.
Filmed at Waibaidu Bridge (Garden Bridge) — The bridge seen at about 12 minutes into the film. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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Processing at Lunghua
After the trio is caught at Jim's old house, they are taken to a processing centre. Jim is now a prisoner, far from the home he waited in.
Set in Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre — The real-world Japanese processing centre in Shanghai where foreign civilians were held. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A Japanese wartime civilian assembly centre in Shanghai's Lunghua area.
The Soochow Creek internment camp (1945)
Jim survives by trading with other prisoners and even the camp commander. Basie, the hustler who first takes him in, becomes his guide to camp life.
Set in Soochow Creek Internment Camp — A Japanese-run internment camp near Suzhou where Jim spends the war.
The film's camp was built as a set in Spain.
Filmed at Trebujena, Cádiz (set on the Guadalquivir riverbank) — The camp was a set built on the Guadalquivir riverbank near Trebujena, not a real camp. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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The airfield beside the camp (1945)
Jim watches the planes from the camp fence and befriends a teenage Japanese pilot trainee through the wire.
Set in Japanese airfield next to the camp — A Japanese airfield on the edge of the camp, across a canal.
A wartime Japanese airfield used as the backdrop of the camp scenes.
Filmed at Trebujena, Cádiz (set on the Guadalquivir riverbank) — The airfield was a set built beside the camp set near Trebujena. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Nantao Stadium and the stolen belongings (1945)
After a long march, the prisoners reach a stadium full of things taken from Shanghai homes. Jim recognises his parents' Packard car among them.
Set in Nantao Stadium — A stadium where the Japanese stored belongings taken from Shanghai residents.
A sports stadium used as a warehouse for looted goods.
Filmed at Trebujena, Cádiz (set on the Guadalquivir riverbank) — The "Nantao" sports arena was a set built on the Guadalquivir riverbank near Trebujena. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Characters
- Jim — A British schoolboy in Shanghai who is separated from his parents when Japan occupies the city.
- Basie — An American hustler who takes Jim in and later shares the internment camp with him.
Questions answered on the map
- Where in Shanghai was the Bund filmed in Empire of the Sun?
- Where was the Soochow Creek internment camp really built?