Chang'an

Chang'an (长安三万里, 2023) is a Chinese animated historical epic you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Xie Junwei and Zou Jing. Running 168 minutes, the film follows Tang dynasty military commander Gao Shi as he recalls, from inside a besieged city, his decades-long friendship with the poet Li Bai.

Li Bai is a genius, a wanderer, and a committed drunk — also one of the most celebrated poets in all of Chinese literature. Gao Shi reached high rank through discipline, not talent. Their friendship spans the full arc of the Tang golden age: brilliant courts, military disasters, and long stretches of exile and separation. The film is built around Li Bai's actual poems, recited at moments where they land rather than merely decorate.

Produced by Light Chaser Animation and released in the summer of 2023, the film crossed a billion yuan at the Chinese domestic box office and triggered renewed interest in Tang poetry among younger audiences. Three hours that do not drag. Stream Chang'an (2023) online on iFILM.