The Chinese Mayor (2015): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2015, The Chinese Mayor is a documentary film directed by Zhou Hao, running about 89 minutes.

What it’s about. Once the thriving capital of Imperial China, the city of Datong now lies in near ruins. Not only is it the most polluted city in the country, it is also crippled by decrepit infrastructure and even shakier economic prospects. But Mayor Geng Yanbo plans to change all that, announcing a bold, new plan to return Datong to its former glory, the cultural haven it was some 1,600 years ago. Such declarations, however, come at a devastatingly high cost. Thousands of homes are to be bulldozed, and a half-million of its residents (30 percent of Datong’s total population) will be relocated under his watch. Whether he succeeds depends entirely on his ability to calm swarms of furious workers and an increasingly perturbed ruling elite. The Chinese Mayor captures, with remarkable access, a man and, by extension, a country leaping frantically into an increasingly unstable future.

Who’s in it. The Chinese Mayor stars Geng Yanbo as Himself.

How it landed. With an audience score of 8.0/10, The Chinese Mayor sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on DOCSVILLE and rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Chinese Mayor page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Chinese Mayor tend to enjoy One Direction: This Is Us, Burn the Stage: The Movie, BTS World Tour: Love Yourself - Japan Edition and Senna.