The first nanyin-themed film, Danhou, is to be released nationwide next year. [Photo/sunnews.cn]

This year marks the 10th anniversary of nanyin - the "living fossil of Chinese music" - being listed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The first film about nanyin was recently completed in Xiamen, eastern Fujian province.

The film's name, Danhou, means top actress in Chinese. It tells the legendary story of Lin Boer, a leading actress who went to Hong Kong with her adoptive mother to make a living but still insisted on inheriting nanyin in the 1950s.

According to the director of the movie, Shen Shaohe, it took more than two years to finish the film. The script-adapting alone took a year and a half, as the original novel has 210,000 Chinese characters and contains a huge amount of information.

The film was shot in many places in Xiamen, such as Lujiang Road and Gulangyu Island, showing its beautiful coast and traditional architecture.

"Over the past two years, our team has been deeply rooted in Xiamen. Every frame of the film has Xiamen elements," said Shen.

The performances in the film are all done by professional nanyin actors, meaning audiences can enjoy the beautiful rhythm of nanyin while watching the film.