Fantastic beasts cast a spell on China

With the movie set in six countries from China to the United Kingdom, a creative team of artists was sent to China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, selecting two iconic attractions－Detian Waterfall and Lijiang River－as the inspiration for one of the movie's pivotal settings.

While the movie has, so far, received mixed reviews online, some domestic fans believe the Chinese elements featured are a success in making it more relatable.

Ren Zhongxi, a communications manager in Beijing, says that the cinematic adaptations of these Chinese creatures have kept their main characteristics as depicted in ancient China. This was exemplified by zouwu－featured in the second Fantastic Beasts film. It could travel 1,000 miles in a day, while qilin is an auspicious creature and the phoenix is immortal.

"It shows that Rowling has a profound knowledge of the mythical creatures from China," she says.

"With twists developing, the new film features the complex social contradictions of the wizarding world, which is also a reflection of the real world, making it a more intriguing tale," she adds.

Chu Xinyu, a fan based in Chengdu, Sichuan province, echoes that Rowling's rewriting of these mythical Chinese creatures has pleased the domestic audience, but he believes that the relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, the most powerful wizards of their time, as well as the casting of new spells, will be more appealing to fans.