FAQ

The original screenplay for The Chidlren of Huang Shi was co-written by Jane Hawksley and James McManus.

The Children of Huang Shi is an onscreen rendition of a true story. British journalist George Hogg sneaked into China during the Japanese occupation in 1937 pretending to be a Red Cross aid worker and hoping to photograph Japanese atrocities. In 1944, Hogg wound up helping a group of orphaned boys and their nurse, Kathleen Hall, escape over the snowbound Liu Pan Shan mountains to the safety of Shandon, a hilltop town in a corridor between Mongolia and Tibet. In 1945, George Hogg died of tetanus. Co-script writer James McManus presents an account of the journey here.

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) (1958) is similar to The Children of Huang Shi in that they both feature an individual leading a group of Chinese children through the mountains in order to escape the advancing Japanese army. The Children of Huang Shi is based on the true story of British journalist George Hogg, whereas The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is based on the true story of English maid Gladys Aylward. Neither the director nor the screenwriters for The Children of Huang Shi have so far said anything about the effect of the 1958 movie on their film.

Huang Shi (or Huangshi) is a city in China's Hubei province.

The Children of Huang Shi is an Australian movie filmed in "original languages", meaning that the Chinese will speak Mandarin, the British reporter and Australian nurse will speak English, and the Japanese soldiers will speak Japanese. Whether the film will be completely dubbed in one language or another depends on the market where it is released.

Mrs Wang (Michelle Yeoh) was last seen going into a room with a Chinese Nationalist soldier with whom she had made a deal in order to obtain Hogg's release. The deal was that she would sleep with him. Hogg was not aware of the sacrifice she made for him.

After leading the children to safety and re-establishing a new orphanage, Hogg comes down with lockjaw (tetanus). Lacking the proper medications, he dies from it.