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Bodyguard from Beijing - Clearwater Bay School

A very cool looking Jet Li ensuring safety in the schoolyard. Clearwater Bay School is located about 100 meters from the legendary Shaw Brothers Studio. You can bring your child to school in the morning and indulge in old kung fu flicks at the same time. What a life.

Bodyguard from Beijing - Cheung Muk Tau Holiday Centre for the Elderly

Cheung Muk Tau Holiday Centre for the Elderly is located in the epicenter of the golden era kung-fu film locations. The striking mountain and its surroundings can be seen in countless movies. I've already written a post about it a few years ago, if you want to read it click here. Frequently used filming locations such as Starfish BayChat Sing TempleMa On Shan and Three Fathoms Cove are all within walking distance. In Bodyguard from Beijing, Cheung Muk Tau Holiday Centre for the Elderly was probably used for the first time as a filming location, since the facility was only opened a year before the movie was released. By the way, in 2007 a scene for Flash Point with Donnie Yen was filmed here too.



Kiss of the Dragon - Port de la Conférence, Paris

Kiss of the Dragon's fatal boat tour begins at the Port de la Conférence. The place offers a beautiful view of the river Seine and an ominous tower that doesn't require any further explanation. By the way, the Seine (775 km) is the second longest river in France. First place goes to the Loire (1006 km).  

Kiss of the Dragon - Pont Alexandre III, Paris

The malicious Tchéky Karyo wants to kill the righteous Jet Li, but our agile hero (Spoiler Alert) manages to escape below the bridge. Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. The extravagant "monument historique" was inaugurated in 1900 and is one of the city's numerous tourist attractions.










Kiss of the Dragon - Gare de l'Est, Paris

Jet Li wants to get his weapons arsenal from the luggage locker at Gare de l'Est. The foyer still looks like in 2001, but the luggage lockers are gone. Opened in 1849, Gare de l'Est is one of the oldest and largest railway stations in Paris. 


   

Kiss of the Dragon - Passerelle des Douanes, Paris

Jet Li and Bridget Fonda take a walk along Canal Saint-Martin. The construction of the canal was ordered by none other than Napoleon I in 1802, funded by a new tax on wine. The name of the footbridge is Passerelle des Douanes (in english: customs bridge).  

Kiss of the Dragon - Arc de Triomphe, Paris

You can't shoot a movie in Paris without showing Arc de Triomphe. Of course, Kiss of the Dragon doesn't break this unwritten law. The world famous monument has an overall height of 50 metres and honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.


Kiss of the Dragon - Place de la Concorde, Paris

Bonjour mes amis, I am in Paris right now. I'm here with my girlfriend, so I won't be on a nonstop filming locations hunt. I don't want to put my relationship at risk for my nerdy hobby. I will probably only take photos of locations that are close to well-known tourist hotspots.

Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of Champs-Élysées. A picturesque place for Jet Li to take a deep breath after the film's violent opening scene.






Ma On Shan

The distinctively shaped Ma On Shan ("horse saddle mountain") stands among the ten highest mountains in Hong Kong. The striking characteristic of its northern face provided a wonderful scenic backdrop for some of Hong Kong Cinema's most renowned martial arts sequences. Numerous fight- and training-scenes with Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Gordon Liu, Yasuaki Kurata, Jet Li and even Jean-Claude Van Damme (just to name a few) have been shot there. Finding the exact spots is difficult, because the area is quite spacious and large parts of it are private grounds and/or overgrown. In search for a matching camera angle, I decided to take my comparison photos at the Garden Farm Golf Centre.



The Spiritual Boxer (1975)

Drunken Master (1978)

Heroes of the East (1978)

The Incredible Kung Fu Master (1979)

Monkey Kung Fu (1979)

The Kung-Fu Instructor (1979)

Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979)

Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979)

The Prodigal Son (1981)

Kickboxer (1989)

Once Upon a Time in China (1991)

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)


Some sequences don't feature Ma On Shan in full glory, but fortunately there are other mountain ridges that help to identify the location. 



Drunken Master (1978)

Knockabout (1979)

Black Mask - Hong Kong Cemetery

The brief trial of strength between Jet Li and Lau Ching-Wan was filmed at the Hong Kong Cemetery. The spacious burial ground is a popular place for filming movies and TV shows. It can also be seen in Enter the Dragon and The Iceman Cometh.