Site Surveys & Tech Scouting

Site surveys in China carry a very wide brief because the locations vary so much. Our scouts work the Forbidden City and the hutongs of Beijing, the Bund and Pudong skyline in Shanghai, and the karst peaks above Yangshuo and Guilin. They also cover the Terracotta Army site outside Xi'an, the Zhangjiajie pillars made famous by global VFX work, the heritage hill towns of Hongcun and Pingyao, and the stages and standing sets of Hengdian World Studios, still the world's largest outdoor film backlot.

Each report logs lighting hours against the latitude, where power and power packs sit, and the sound in dense city districts. It also tracks gear access through narrow alleys and pedestrian-only heritage zones, drone airspace status under CAAC rules, and the permit layer that ties any survey back to NRTA approval and CFCC co-production gating.

Field teams move with high-resolution stills, 360 captures, and drone footage where licensed. They also take lux readings at the key times of day and close access notes on car clearances and load-bearing surfaces. We work with local public security bureaus and heritage officials in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Chengdu to confirm what is shootable and what needs an escort, special insurance, or off-limits-zone clearance. That care extends to Tibetan, Xinjiang, and military-adjacent backgrounds.

The picture on the ground is more exact than any map. Reports arrive within forty-eight hours for standard urban work and three to five days for multi-day surveys on remote provincial routes. Each one is built around the line producer's stripboard, so directors, DPs, gaffers, and stunt coordinators can plan without flying ahead of the unit.