[3] The Three Gorges region along the Yangtze River in Fengjie is located in Chongqing, the South-East section of China, it is an old town with a history of more than 2000 years.

[4] The Three Gorges Dam being constructed in this region is known as the world’s largest hydropower project and a symbol of “Chinese modernity”, aiming to improve navigation and also produce electricity.

[1] Fengjie as one of the towns firstly being submerged by the water storage system of the power generation project, was relocated to a higher altitude in 2002.

[7] He mainly focuses his artwork on the living states of workers and labours from the lower class in the society through his portrayal of natural beauty while travelling.

His conception to reveal the developing economy in China was explored in his paintings as he moved intimately towards the world, illustrating ordinary people from both urban and rural areas in his motherland.

[7] Hot Bed is one of Liu Xiaodong’s painting project composed of two parts during his four weeks journey in Fengjie China and Bangkook Thailand.

[10] The documentary is separated into two sections: The first part took place in the Three Gorges Region in China in 2005, recording down the working process of painter Liu Xiaodong with his painting project ‘Hot Bed’ that portrays the dam workers in the region who were experiencing migration due to the construction of Three Gorges dam.

[11] Eleven local workers were his models for the painting while he visited Fengjie during the construction of the project, and they were playing cards and resting in swimming trunks before their homes being deconstructed.

The daily reality of low-class people in contemporary Chinese society has been illustrated through Jia’s ability to tell ordinary stories in an empathetic way.

[14] Both director Jia and the painter Liu concerned with modern realistic social situations through their vision of art and culture and aiming to portray them in their painting and filming.

[1] The living circumstances of people impacted by the hydropower project along the Yangtze River of Three Gorges Region were reflected, which many towns are flooded, and residents were forced to leave their homes and migrant to completely new places.

The appearance of fictional scenes within Dong shows how Jia departs from audiences’ expectation of traditional documentaries, questioning film genres as a form of label.

[17] He inserted fictional elements inside the film and explains that surrealism should also be added to show a more realistic perspective on the fastness of China’s development and transformation.

The difference is that Han was presented with a more realistic view in the documentary Dong as a model of Liu Xiaodong’s artwork but a more subjective protagonist in the fictional film Still Life, the diverse perspectives of this character reveals the complexity of Jia’s cinema.