When asked why she chose ancient ship building on Taihu Lake in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, Argentinian director Ximena Díaz said she loves things related to water, and boats resonate with her emotionally.
The protagonist of the film, Zhang Guixing, has been learning ancient ship building from his grandfather since he was a child. Most of Zhang's life has been spent building cement and metal ships in shipyards. Due to a love for water, Ximena and Zhang became acquainted, and she heard Zhang recollecting the memory of building ancient ships. Validated by a professor from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, even large tonnage ships have similar underwater structure.
Chinese wisdom, shared by a passionate elderly man to the Argentine director, resonates to some extent with the fact that 600 years ago, Zheng He, a Chinese explorer who led seven great voyages on behalf of the Chinese emperor, traveling through the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and along the east coast of Africa, brought Chinese culture to the world. The sail models of Zhang are all hand-sewn by his wife. The couple worked with the director to make the film.
