Please join the China Ongoing Perspectives (CHOP) Film Series on Monday, November 2, for a screening of The Chinese Mayor (2015), directed by award-winning filmmaker Hao Zhou.
Once the thriving capital of Imperial China, the city of Datong is now among the country’s most polluted cities, burdened by aging infrastructure and uncertain economic prospects. Mayor Geng Yanbo announces an ambitious plan to restore Datong to the cultural center it was 1,600 years ago. The plan comes at a devastating cost: thousands of homes will be demolished, and half a million residents--30 percent of Datong’s population--will be relocated. The Chinese Mayor offers remarkable access to a leader, and to a country, moving urgently toward an increasingly unstable future.
A post-screening discussion will feature Director Hao Zhou and Dr. Lan Deng, professor and chair of the Urban and Regional Planning Program at U-M Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Time: Monday, November 2, 2026, 5:30-8 p.m.
Location: Hatcher Graduate Library, Gallery Space (first floor)
The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.
The CHOP Documentary Film Series is co-sponsored by the Asia Library and the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies.