# Railroad Tigers (铁道飞虎)
**Railroad Tigers** (铁道飞虎) is a 2016 Chinese action-comedy war film directed by Ding Sheng and starring [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan) as [Ma Yuan](https://www.edgepedia.org/ma-yuan), the leader of a band of railroad workers who harass Japanese forces along the Jinpu railway in Shandong during the [Second Sino-Japanese War](https://www.edgepedia.org/second-sino-japanese-war). It was released in mainland China on December 23, 2016, in the Christmas and New Year holiday season, and was the third collaboration between Ding Sheng and Chan after *Little Big Soldier* (2010) and *Police Story 2013*.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/) • [2](https://news.qingdaonews.com/qingdao/2016-04/20/content_11569534.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chinese and English titles | 铁道飞虎; also listed as *Rail Road Tigers*[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/) |
| Director and writer | Ding Sheng (丁晟), who also edited the film himself[2](https://news.qingdaonews.com/qingdao/2016-04/20/content_11569534.htm) |
| Cast | Jackie Chan, Huang Zitao, Wang Kai, Wang Dalu, Jaycee Chan, Xu Fan, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Koji Yano[3](https://www.jackiechan.com/films/railroad-tiger/) |
| Genre and language | Action, comedy, war; Mandarin[3](https://www.jackiechan.com/films/railroad-tiger/) |
| Release | December 23, 2016 (mainland China); later releases in Singapore, Malaysia, the United States, Hong Kong, and Japan[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/) |
| Running time | 123 minutes (Chinese release); 125 minutes listed for the North American home-video release[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/) • [4](https://www.wellgousa.com/films/railroad-tigers) |
| Box office | About 3.3亿 yuan in its first week; a 2021 retrospective gives a total of 7亿 yuan[5](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2017/0105/c404004-29001805.html) • [6](https://chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2021-11-24/7684.html) |
| Recognition | Nominated for Best Art Direction (Feng Ligang) at the 11th Asian Film Awards (2017)[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story is set in 1941, after the outbreak of the [Pacific War](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-war), when the Jinpu railway crossing Shandong had become one of the most important strategic transport lines for the Japanese army in occupied China. Around the [Zaozhuang](https://www.edgepedia.org/zaozhuang) section of the line, a civilian anti-Japanese guerrilla band operates, made up mainly of railroad workers from the Zaozhuang station. Their leader, Ma Yuan (Jackie Chan), is the foreman of the station's porters. By day the men work at the Japanese-occupied station; by night they use their knowledge of the line and their skills at climbing onto and driving trains to harass a far better-equipped Japanese regular army, earning the nickname "Railroad Flying Tigers" from local villagers.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/)
The international synopsis describes the film as an action-comedy caper in which the railroad worker and his ragtag group of fighters ambush a heavily armed military train carrying provisions, fighting an entire army with their wits.[4](https://www.wellgousa.com/films/railroad-tigers) Reviews describe a three-part structure with chapter titles rendered as "steal the train," "get the explosives," and "blow up the bridge": the men rescue a wounded [Eighth Route Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/eighth-route-army) soldier whose unit was wiped out trying to destroy a bridge, and take up his mission.[7](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1587570)
## Production
**Ding Sheng's approach.** Ding Sheng described the film as an action comedy, a style he had rarely used, and said he wanted to build a personal signature in comedy. He stated that although the film continues a red-classic story, the characters' identities were newly created: "I did not draw on the original novel or the earlier films; the characters are completely new and the story is purely original," reworking the old story through his own understanding and perspective.[2](https://news.qingdaonews.com/qingdao/2016-04/20/content_11569534.htm) He had announced the project in 2015 as a new collaboration with Chan, describing it as a story of ordinary people fighting invaders, in a style resembling *Little Big Soldier*.[8](https://ent.sina.cn/film/chinese/2015-08-17/detail-ifxfxraw8858726.d.html?vt=4)
Filming took place from October 16 to December 28, 2015, in Linyi, Shandong, in Liaoning, and at the Yimeng Red Film Base.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/) Ding edited the film himself, reporting in April 2016 that about two-thirds of the cut was done with substantial visual-effects work remaining.[2](https://news.qingdaonews.com/qingdao/2016-04/20/content_11569534.htm) The first shot of the film was given to the Qingdao-born Huang Zitao, a gesture Ding attributed to looking after a fellow townsman.[2](https://news.qingdaonews.com/qingdao/2016-04/20/content_11569534.htm)
**Financing.** Beijing Jingxi Culture & Tourism disclosed that its subsidiary Beijing Gongzuoshi Film & Culture invested 30 million yuan in the film.[9](https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2016-12-22/doc-ifxyxute2779047.shtml) Production companies included Beijing Yaolai Film and Television Culture Media and Shanghai Film Group, with a range of co-producers and distributors.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/)
## Release and box office
The film opened on December 23, 2016, the same day as *The Wasted Times* and against *The Great Wall*, and its opening was weaker than *The Wasted Times*.[10](https://www.1905.com/news/20170103/1147187.shtml) In its second week it overtook both to become the weekly box-office champion in mainland China, earning 274.15 million yuan for the week of December 26 to January 1 and reaching a cumulative 489.6 million yuan; by early January its cumulative total was reported at about 3.3亿 to 3.5亿 yuan.[10](https://www.1905.com/news/20170103/1147187.shtml) • [5](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2017/0105/c404004-29001805.html) • [11](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/170104/170104C.pdf) A 2021 retrospective in *China Film News* gives a final total of 7亿 yuan.[6](https://chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2021-11-24/7684.html)
**Box-office guarantee.** The film was notable for a 1-billion-yuan (10亿) box-office guarantee from Beijing Weiyingshi Technology (Weipiao): under the agreement with co-investor Yaolai, if the final box office fell short of 10亿 yuan, Weipiao would pay Yaolai 300 million yuan.[12](https://www.scdnews.com/images/paper/161228/161228C.pdf) Trade commentary in early January judged the 10亿 target difficult to reach.[10](https://www.1905.com/news/20170103/1147187.shtml)
## Reception
Audience scores were mixed and fell over the release window. On December 27, 2016, Douban showed 5.7 from 12,623 ratings and Maoyan showed an audience score of 8.5 from 59,000 ratings with a professional score of 5.2; a report at opening gave Douban 5.8, and by January 5, 2017, a commentary in *China Art News* put Douban at 4.7.[13](https://www.803.com.cn/Tianxia/content/201612/28/c15167.html) • [14](https://news.ifeng.com/c/7fbAWbAoqyl) • [5](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2017/0105/c404004-29001805.html) The film became entangled in the late-2016 controversy in which *People's Daily* criticized Douban and Maoyan for "malicious reviews" of the three holiday releases *The Great Wall*, *The Wasted Times*, and *Railroad Tigers*.[13](https://www.803.com.cn/Tianxia/content/201612/28/c15167.html)
Critics divided over how the film handled its source material. A commentary in *China Art News* argued that viewers would find little connection to the *Railway Guerrilla* story beyond the recurring song "Play My Beloved Tu Pipa," the train setting, and the raid-explosives-bridge plot beats, calling it a Jackie Chan-style action comedy dressed in red-classic clothing.[5](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2017/0105/c404004-29001805.html) Scholars Li Yizhong of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Lü Xiaoming, former vice chairman of the Shanghai Film Association, noted in *Jiefang Daily* that the film invites comparison with the 1956 classic but is essentially unrelated to Zhixia's novel or the old Shanghai Film Studio picture, using only Lü Qiming's song and variations on his score; Li credited the director for keeping the comedy's assumptions more measured than "anti-Japanese miracle dramas," while regretting that the song is never sung in full.[15](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2017/0126/c404003-29050907.html) A Hong Kong review in HK01 criticized the film for lowering the Japanese army's intelligence for comic effect and for inserting internet slang such as "duang" into a 1930s setting.[16](https://www.hk01.com/sns/article/67394) A Jiemian piece took a more favorable line, arguing that the Japanese are not deliberately weakened or caricatured and that the fight is decided only at the last moment, and praised the choice of ordinary workers, tailors, and blacksmiths rather than idealized heroes.[17](https://m.jiemian.com/article/1034321.html)
## Place in the Railway Guerrilla lineage
The film draws on the same historical material as the *Railway Guerrilla* (铁道游击队) franchise: the Communist-led Lunan Military Region railway detachment that operated around Zaozhuang on the Jinpu line during the war. Writer Liu Zhixia's 1954 novel was filmed by Shanghai Film Studio in 1956, and the story was adapted again as the television series of 1985 and 2005, the film *Flying Tigers* (1996), and *Railway Heroes* (2021).[18](https://www.81.mil.cn/yd_208600/16383216.html) Commentators place *Railroad Tigers* in this sequence as the 2016 entry, a playful, comedy-inflected version produced during the rapid growth of the Chinese film industry, in contrast to the earnest 1956 original and the commercially eclectic 1996 *Flying Tigers*.[6](https://chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2021-11-24/7684.html) Actor Zhang Hanyu, discussing *Railway Heroes*, described Ding Sheng's film as Jackie Chan's version of the story within that lineage.[19](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15458458)
The film's theme song, "Play My Beloved Tu Pipa" (弹起我心爱的土琵琶), performed in the film by [Wang Kai](https://www.edgepedia.org/wang-kai), Wang Dalu, Sang Ping, and Wu Yonglun, is the song composed by Lü Qiming for the 1956 film, whose copyright is held by Shanghai Film Group; Shanghai Film Group's participation as an investor allowed the song's use.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/) • [17](https://m.jiemian.com/article/1034321.html)
## References
1. [铁道飞虎 详细资料, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2230816/info/)
2. [青岛导演丁晟重现抗日传奇 第一个镜头给黄子韬, 青岛新闻网 (2016-04-20)](https://news.qingdaonews.com/qingdao/2016-04/20/content_11569534.htm)
3. [Railroad Tigers 《鐵道飛虎》, Jackie Chan filmography](https://www.jackiechan.com/films/railroad-tiger/)
4. [Railroad Tigers, Official Movie Site, Well Go USA](https://www.wellgousa.com/films/railroad-tigers)
5. [IP时代如何再造红色经典？——从电影《铁道飞虎》说起, 中国作家网 (2017-01-05)](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2017/0105/c404004-29001805.html)
6. [时势造就的《铁道英雄》, 中国电影报 (2021-11-24)](https://chinafilmnews.cn/Html/2021-11-24/7684.html)
7. [《铁道飞虎》：自以为萌萌哒, 澎湃新闻 (2016-12-27)](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1587570)
8. [导演丁晟：就算不干电影也不想表达别人, 新浪娱乐 (2015-08-17)](https://ent.sina.cn/film/chinese/2015-08-17/detail-ifxfxraw8858726.d.html?vt=4)
9. [北京京西文化旅游股份有限公司关于电影《铁道飞虎》进展情况的公告, 新浪财经 (2016-12-22)](https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2016-12-22/doc-ifxyxute2779047.shtml)
10. [内地票房：《铁道飞虎》逆袭 元旦档三天突破6亿, 1905电影网 (2017-01-03)](https://www.1905.com/news/20170103/1147187.shtml)
11. [中国影视 Daily News (2017-01-04)](https://scdnews.com/images/paper/170104/170104C.pdf)
12. [中国影视 Daily News (2016-12-28)](https://www.scdnews.com/images/paper/161228/161228C.pdf)
13. [人民日报批豆瓣猫眼：恶评伤害国产电影, 岳阳网 (2016-12-28)](https://www.803.com.cn/Tianxia/content/201612/28/c15167.html)
14. [《摆渡人》首日略胜《铁道飞虎》, 凤凰网 (2016-12-24)](https://news.ifeng.com/c/7fbAWbAoqyl)
15. [铁道飞虎"飞"起来了吗, 解放日报 via 中国作家网 (2017-01-26)](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/n1/2017/0126/c404003-29050907.html)
16. [〖影评．铁道飞虎〗主旋律 新包装 香港制, 香港01 (2017-01-23)](https://www.hk01.com/sns/article/67394)
17. [《铁道飞虎》两天破亿：大片扑街，成龙IP的号召力还在吗？, 界面新闻](https://m.jiemian.com/article/1034321.html)
18. [以独特的叙事张力和深刻的精神内涵再现抗战传奇故事, 中国军网 (2025-04-27)](https://www.81.mil.cn/yd_208600/16383216.html)
19. [专访｜张涵予：基层小人物，凡人大英雄, 澎湃新闻](https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15458458)
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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 › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Action comedies › Action comedies, 2000 to 2019*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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