Two students shoot at Shapowei in Xiamen during the short film shooting competition on May 14. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

A film-shooting competition took place in Shapowei, once the only legal point of departure to Taiwan and now a gathering area for artists and art lovers in Xiamen's Siming district, Fujian province, on May 14.

The competition attracted 127 students in 30 groups from universities and colleges on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. Participants were asked to create a 5-minute short film about Shapowei in 48 hours.

"We hope to show the achievements of Siming district since China's reform and opening-up in 1978 through the competition," said Guo Xiaohua, dean of the New Silk Road School of Fashion, Xiamen University of Technology, one of the sponsors of the competition.

Shapowei in Xiamen's Siming district, Fujian province. [Photo/IC]

"This is my first time to Shapowei, and I hope to explore the history of Xiamen during the shooting of this short film," said a participant from Taiwan Shih Hsin University.

Since Shaopowei was officially designated as a Xiamen Film and Television Shooting Spot, the place has become a film and television block, with more than 100 enterprises in related industries settling in the area.