Watch The Land of Many Palaces

The Land of Many Palaces is a 2015 documentary film that explores the lives of a group of young people living in the city of Ordos in northern China. Directed by Adam James Smith and Song Ting, the film is a fascinating look at the impact of China's rapid urbanization on traditional ways of life and the challenges faced by individuals caught between the old and the new.

The film opens with a stunning aerial shot of the Empty City, a vast new development in Ordos that was originally designed to house over one million people, but which is now largely deserted. We soon meet several young people who have moved here to take up jobs as "city mothers," government officials tasked with convincing farmers to abandon their rural homes and settle in the city.

One of the main subjects of the film is a young woman named Ying Ling, who comes from a village in Inner Mongolia and is working as a city mother in the Empty City. We see her attending meetings with farmers, trying to persuade them to leave their homes and take up residency in the modern apartment blocks of the city. Ying Ling is a sympathetic figure, struggling to reconcile her traditional way of life with the new opportunities and challenges presented by urbanization.

Another young person we meet is Dong Hongmin, who has moved to the city from a remote village in the mountains. Dong is working as a security guard at one of the new high-rise apartment blocks in the city, and we see him going about his daily routine, interacting with residents and trying to make the best of his new life in the city.

Throughout the film, we also see glimpses of traditional Mongolian culture, such as a ceremony involving the drinking of mare's milk, and the singing of folk songs in the countryside. These scenes provide a poignant reminder of the rich cultural heritage that is slowly being eroded by China's rapid industrialization.

One of the most striking aspects of the film is the sheer scale of the Empty City development, and the eerie emptiness of the vast buildings and wide, open spaces. We see shots of entire apartment blocks standing empty, while nearby farmers continue to live in their traditional yurts and tend their flocks of sheep.

The Land of Many Palaces does an excellent job of capturing the complexities of China's rapid urbanization, and the difficulties faced by those caught up in its wake. The film is both visually stunning and emotionally powerful, and provides a compelling glimpse into the lives of ordinary people trying to navigate a rapidly changing world.

The Land of Many Palaces is a 2015 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.6.