# Detective Chinatown (唐人街探案)
**Detective Chinatown** (唐人街探案) is a 2015 Chinese comedy-mystery film directed and co-written by Chen Sicheng (陈思诚), starring Wang Baoqiang as the self-styled detective Tang Ren and Liu Haoran as his young cousin Qin Feng, who together investigate a murder in Bangkok's Chinatown while fleeing the police as suspects themselves[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/info/) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/detective-chinatown/umc.cmc.3vj1vys2zqua1sgir38bezsyo). Released in mainland China on 31 December 2015, it launched one of China's most commercially successful film franchises, which by 2025 had grown to four theatrical entries[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/info/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Detective-Chinatown).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chinese title | 唐人街探案 (Tang Ren Jie Tan An) |
| Director / writers | Chen Sicheng, with co-writers Cheng Jiake, Liu Kai, and Bai He[4](https://cjiff.net/2016_10/download/2016_china_film_week_movies_cn.PDF) |
| Release | Mainland China, 31 December 2015; 135 minutes, Mandarin[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/info/) |
| Lead cast | Wang Baoqiang (Tang Ren), Liu Haoran (Qin Feng), Tong Liya, Chen He[5](https://ent.sina.com.cn/ku/tv_detail_index.d.html?id=fyhmpew3479258&type=star) |
| Worldwide box office | $120,636,966, of which $459,832 came from the limited North American release[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Detective-Chinatown) |
| Golden Horse Awards (2016) | Won Best Makeup and Costume Design and Best Action Design; nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Original Film Song[6](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/1389) |
| Franchise grosses | Detective Chinatown 2: $544,083,984; Detective Chinatown 3: $699,083,426; Detective Chinatown 1900: $454,956,002 worldwide[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Detective-Chinatown) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
The story begins with Qin Feng (秦风), a gifted but stuttering teenager who fails the entrance examination for the police academy and is sent by his family to Thailand to visit a distant uncle, Tang Ren (唐仁), who advertises himself as the "number one detective in Chinatown" but in practice is a disreputable small-time operator[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/info/) • [4](https://cjiff.net/2016_10/download/2016_china_film_week_movies_cn.PDF). After a night of revelry, the pair wakes to find Tang Ren accused of a bizarre murder, with a hard-nosed detective closing in, two gangs in pursuit, and even the [Chinatown](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinatown) crime boss drawn into the chase; they must solve the case within seven days to clear their names[6](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/1389) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/detective-chinatown/umc.cmc.3vj1vys2zqua1sgir38bezsyo).
The film's structure pairs straight-faced honkaku-style deduction with broad slapstick: the Taipei Golden Horse Festival synopsis describes it as "orthodox mystery reasoning" mixed with "mutant comedy," in which high-level logical puzzle-solving sits alongside lowbrow farce[6](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/1389).
### The franchise
The first film's success established a series that became a fixture of the [Chinese New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-new-year) release season[11](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-return-of-chinatown-mysteries-with-detective-chinatown-1900-302351251.html):
- **Detective Chinatown 2** ([唐人街探案2](https://www.edgepedia.org/detective-chinatown-2)), released 16 February 2018, grossed $544,083,984 worldwide[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Detective-Chinatown).
- **Detective Chinatown 3** (唐人街探案3), with a reported production budget of $117,000,000, grossed $699,083,426 worldwide; its pre-sale box office passed 717 million yuan through an integrated multi-platform marketing campaign[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Detective-Chinatown) • [12](https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/125961814.pdf).
- **Detective Chinatown 1900** (唐探1900), released 29 January 2025, is a prequel directed by Chen Sicheng and Dai Mo, set in San Francisco's Chinatown around 1900, with Turbo Liu as Qin Fu and Wang Baoqiang as a character known as Ghost or Ah Gui; it ranked second in the Spring Festival box office with over RMB3.6 billion[13](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/detective-chinatown-1900-high-spectacle-chinese-blockbuster-turns-back-time-muddled-prequel) • [14](https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0911/2025091100499.pdf).
The 1900 prequel departs from the metropolitan detective adventures of Qin Feng and Tang Ren, and its treatment of the era's anti-Chinese hostility drew both praise for dramatizing the discrimination Chinese immigrants faced and criticism for stereotyped portrayals of its Native American characters[13](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/detective-chinatown-1900-high-spectacle-chinese-blockbuster-turns-back-time-muddled-prequel) • [15](https://www.chinadailyhk.com/upload/main/pdf/2025/03/17/5830d1a38a1bd473d95249ead86e0415.pdf).
## Production
Chen Sicheng, born in 1978, was an actor before turning director; his debut as writer-director was *Beijing Love Story* (2014), and *Detective Chinatown* was his second feature[6](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/1389). The screenplay was registered with the Beijing authorities in 2014 under filing number 影剧备字[2014]第1033号, with Wanda Film and Television Media as the filing company[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/info/). Filming took place at the China Criminal Police College in Shenyang and on location in Thailand, including Bangkok's Grand Palace, the Maeklong Railway Market, and Chinatown street sets[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/info/). The theme song, 《唐人街》, was performed by Li Yuchun (李宇春)[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/info/).
Liu Haoran was 17 when the character posters were released in September 2015 and had appeared in only one previous film, Chen Sicheng's *Beijing Love Story*; he and Wang Baoqiang were promoted as the "strongest brain" pairing of Chinatown[7](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/150930/150930C.pdf).
## Reception and awards
The film drew wide attention and favorable reviews on release[8](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/). At the 2016 Golden Horse Awards it won Best Makeup and Costume Design and Best Action Design, with nominations for cinematography, art direction, and original film song[6](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/1389). Reviewing the film for the *South China Morning Post*, Edmund Lee wrote that it "serves up effective laughs and an interesting murder mystery" and called it one of China's best detective films in recent years[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/detective_chinatown_2016).
Commercially, the first film earned $120,636,966 worldwide, almost all of it in Asia; its North American release by China Lion Film Distribution opened in 33 theaters on 15 January 2016 and grossed $459,832[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Detective-Chinatown) • [10](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Detective-Chinatown-%282015-China%29).
## References
1. [唐人街探案 详细资料, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/info/)
2. [Detective Chinatown, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/detective-chinatown/umc.cmc.3vj1vys2zqua1sgir38bezsyo)
3. [Box Office History for Detective Chinatown Movies, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Detective-Chinatown)
4. [2016 China Film Week film catalog, Changchun Film Festival (PDF)](https://cjiff.net/2016_10/download/2016_china_film_week_movies_cn.PDF)
5. [电视详情页, Sina Entertainment](https://ent.sina.com.cn/ku/tv_detail_index.d.html?id=fyhmpew3479258&type=star)
6. [唐人街探案, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival archive](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/1389)
7. [SCD News, 30 September 2015 (PDF)](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/150930/150930C.pdf)
8. [唐人街探案 Detective Chinatown (2015), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2229392/)
9. [Detective Chinatown review roundup, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/detective_chinatown_2016)
10. [Detective Chinatown (2015) box office and financial information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Detective-Chinatown-%282015-China%29)
11. [The Return of Chinatown Mysteries with Detective Chinatown 1900, PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-return-of-chinatown-mysteries-with-detective-chinatown-1900-302351251.html)
12. [Detective Chinatown 3 marketing case study, Atlantis Press](https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/125961814.pdf)
13. [Detective Chinatown 1900 review, Sight and Sound, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/detective-chinatown-1900-high-spectacle-chinese-blockbuster-turns-back-time-muddled-prequel)
14. [Wanda Film Holding Management Discussion and Analysis, HKEX (PDF)](https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0911/2025091100499.pdf)
15. [Detective Chinatown 1900 international release coverage, China Daily HK (PDF)](https://www.chinadailyhk.com/upload/main/pdf/2025/03/17/5830d1a38a1bd473d95249ead86e0415.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2015–2019 films › Thriller and mystery films › Titles symbols to E*
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