慈禧坐火车

Paper-Cut Animation "Cixi Takes the Train" Screenplay by Wang Shuchen; Directed by Zhong Quan and Wang Qiang; Character Design by Wang Gong; Art Design by Tao Xin; Animation by Wei Jing and Wang Jiana; Cinematography by Zhang Jing; Music by Bi Xiaoxing. Adapted from a folk legend. In the late Qing Dynasty, China's first railway appeared. Upon hearing the news, Empress Dowager Cixi immediately decided to take the train to inspect various regions. Accordingly, the train was lavishly decorated according to the imperial court's customs. However, during the journey, Cixi dreamed of a military uprising in the capital and hastily ordered a return to the palace. After returning to Beijing, she deemed the train an inauspicious object and less comfortable than a sedan chair, thus commanding that the train be driven as far away from the capital as possible. Through Cixi's attitude toward the train, the film portrays the incompetence and corruption of the late Qing government. This work won the Second Prize at the Second National Film and Television Animation Exhibition.