From Dunhuang to Huangshan to Wuyishan: A Kung Fu Journey Through China
In the martial arts fantasy The Forbidden Kingdom, the hero leaps across deserts, floats down misty rivers, and climbs into the clouds—all while being trained by legendary masters like Jackie Chan and Jet Li. But the film's real magic lies in its landscapes. Shot across China's most dreamlike locations—Dunhuang's Mogao Caves, Mount Huangshan, and Wuyishan's river valleys—the movie is more than kung fu action; it's a gentle invitation to explore a China of scrolls, silence, and storytelling landscapes.
What makes it even more delightful for today's global travelers, especially Muslim visitors, is that these places are becoming increasingly halal-friendly. Whether you're sipping tea beside a temple wall, wandering an ancient grotto, or hiking into the mist, it's now easier to find halal food options and prayer spaces along the way—making this cinematic journey one that's truly inclusive.
Let's step into the frame.
Desert Monks and Painted Grottos: Dunhuang's Whispering Walls
The movie's mystical desert scenes were filmed in Dunhuang, an ancient Silk Road city in Gansu Province. Here lies the awe-inspiring Mogao Caves, where over 1,000 years of Buddhist art cover cave walls in vivid color and quiet reverence. These caves form a sacred library of stone and paint, visited not just by scholars and artists, but by curious souls seeking silence and history.
Muslim travelers will appreciate Dunhuang's role as a Silk Road crossroads, where cultures once mingled and hospitality was essential. While halal restaurants are limited within the immediate tourist area, a few halal noodle houses and lamb skewer stalls can be found in the city center, serving local Hui-style cuisine. For prayer, some hotels offer prayer mats upon request, and Dunhuang Mosque—a modest but active place of worship—is available for daily prayers.
Add in the golden dunes of Echoing Sand Mountain and the mysterious Crescent Lake, and you have a landscape that looks like it drifted out of a desert dream.
Pine Trees in the Clouds: The Poetry of Mount Huangshan
When The Forbidden Kingdom turns to cloud-wrapped cliffs and solitary pine trees, the backdrop is none other than Mount Huangshan, or Yellow Mountain, in Anhui Province. With its granite peaks and curling mist, Huangshan has inspired poets, painters, and filmmakers for centuries. In the movie, this mountain offers more than scenery—it becomes a place of discipline, meditation, and transformation.
For Muslim travelers, Huangshan Town (also called Tunxi) provides halal dining options, particularly lanzhou-style hand-pulled noodles prepared by Hui Muslims. Some local hotels are also halal-friendly, and Tunxi Mosque, one of the area's oldest Islamic sites, offers a space for prayer in peace. On the mountain itself, while there are no formal prayer rooms, quiet sunrise viewpoints and less-frequented paths can serve as makeshift places for reflection and devotion. Just pack a portable mat and a peaceful heart.
Whether hiking up to Lotus Peak, walking along narrow ridges, or simply sipping local green tea at a mountain inn, Huangshan invites every traveler—regardless of background—to slow down and look around.
Bamboo Rafts and Tea Mist: Wuyishan's Quiet Flow
Some of the gentlest scenes in The Forbidden Kingdom—a bamboo raft drifting on a winding river, mist curling around red stone cliffs—were filmed in Wuyishan, Fujian Province. Known for its UNESCO-listed Danxia landforms, sacred mountains, and Da Hong Pao tea, Wuyishan offers a softer side of kung fu: patient, balanced, and tuned into nature.
Wuyishan Town has become more visitor-friendly in recent years, and although halal restaurants are not widespread, many hotels can arrange custom halal meals with advance notice. Vegetarian options—such as stir-fried local greens, tofu, and rice noodles—are widely available. While there is no large mosque in town, travelers can find quiet corners at scenic spots or hotel rooms to complete their prayers.
A bamboo rafting trip on the Nine-Bend River is a must. As you glide past cave dwellings, poetic cliff carvings, and tea gardens climbing the rocks, it's easy to understand why filmmakers chose this place to symbolize peace, wisdom, and the natural rhythm of kung fu.
A Cinematic Journey Made Real
The Forbidden Kingdom may be a fantasy, but its settings are very real—and very reachable. What ties Dunhuang, Huangshan, and Wuyishan together isn't just that they're filming locations. It's that each offers a different spiritual rhythm: Dunhuang is deep and ancient, Huangshan is high and poetic, and Wuyishan is soft and flowing. Together, they form a kind of cinematic pilgrimage, one that touches history, art, nature, and silence.
And now, with the increasing availability of halal-friendly travel services in China, more Muslim travelers can enjoy this journey comfortably. From halal restaurants in heritage towns to mosques nestled in old neighborhoods, the path is becoming easier to walk, and more welcoming at every turn.
So if you've ever dreamed of stepping into a kung fu scroll, or sipping tea on a mountain where mist curls like a dragon's breath, maybe it's time to follow the trail of The Forbidden Kingdom. Whether you're traveling with faith, family, or just curiosity in your backpack, China's movie landscapes await—with poetry in the air, prayer in your heart, and a halal meal never too far away.
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