This Group Of 16 Retirees Got Together To Film Their Own Version Of Empresses In The Palace, And The Results Are Amazing

What initially started out as a fun project for a friend’s mother who loved travelling and watching dramas has now gone viral on Chinese social media. This short film remake of the popular Chinese period drama, Empresses in the Palace, has captivated netizens, and for good reason.

You see, all 16 stars of the short remake are retirees with an average age of 62, with the oldest being in her seventies.

According to reports, the retirees, who hail from Shanghai, specially travelled over to Hengdian, China, where most period drama sets are located, for three days and two nights to take part in the production.

They're stars now.

The organiser, who runs a tour agency, shared in an interview with Chinese media that the trip came about after a friend wanted to do something nice for his mum, who loved watching dramas.

The mum then roped in her friends, and one of them even got their husband on board to play the emperor.

Now, this wasn’t an amateur production by any means. Apart from engaging a professional film crew to take charge of the filming, the aunties were also given a quick acting lesson before filming begun.

Here to slay.

They filmed a total of five scenes, which took about six hours to complete. Roles were decided by drawing lots, and everyone was decked out in the appropriate palace-wear, with a professional make-up artist hired too.

And the kicker? Each participant only had to fork out about 4000 yuan, or S$770, for the entire experience.

Totally worth it.

“This is interesting, but please, don’t let my mum see this,” one netizen joked, after seeing the video. Another commented that the emperor was really good at his role, almost as if he became the Yongzheng Emperor himself.

How fancy.

Watch the original Empresses in the Palace on meWATCH here.

Photos: Xinmin Evening News, hk01