The Eastern Tour of Inspection | Screenings

Director Zhang Nan, 2026, China
29 min, unclassified

Weaving ancient textual records and imaginative reenactment, this experimental work traces the five successive eastern tours of Ying Zheng, the First Emperor of Qin, framed within the geography of early China. Haunted by celestial omens and prophecies of his death, the Emperor undertakes these journeys in pursuit of immortality. The film examines ancient understandings of heaven, portents, music, and the blurred boundary between myth and history.

Through present-day landscapes, viewers enter a dual perspective: an intertextual dialogue between contemporary scenery and imagined ancient times. It invites reflection on modern understandings of celestial phenomena, nature and mortality. All visual materials are captured on-site around three architectural projects in China designed by OPEN Architecture, bounded by the concept of site-specificity.

This event ticket includes free entry to the museum and 4 exhibitions: The Mall, The Dark, Overflow and Es Devlin: The Turning.