(Ecns.cn)--Every night on the streets of Hengdian, a town located in Dongyang of east China's Zhejiang Province and home to Hengdian World Studios, the world's largest film studio, large numbers of people congregate in the hopes of becoming movie stars.
To the locals, these loiterers are known as "Hengdian drifters" or "Hengdian extras."
They come from all over the country, chasing their dreams or just looking for a way to survive. 51-year-old Xue Feng is one of them.
In winter, Hengdian enters its off-peak season, when aside from a few lingering camera crews the place is mostly desolate. However, in order to earn a living, Xue must stay at the set for at least eight hours a day.
Years before coming to Hengdian, Xue was a professional actor at a theater in Harbin, the chilly capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. But because the theater failed to adjust to the market economy, it gradually fell behind its competitors and went bankrupt.
After losing his job there, Xue worked as a background actor for film studios in Shenyang and Hebei until last year, when he was offered a chance to act in Hengdian, where his wife and son now also work as extras.
Currently, Xue is playing a small part in a period TV series named "Bodyguard." Because of his training and acting experience, he earns up to 150 yuan ($23.56) a day, about three times as much as other extras are generally paid.
"This is quite a large amount of money compared to others," said Xue. "If we work overtime we can get another 5 yuan per hour, and if the work is required to be done at midnight, we receive another 10 yuan per hour."
Though the current salary helps Xue raise his family, it is not an ideal situation. Most of the extras rent 10-square-meter rooms for 60 yuan a month, and the money leftover is barely enough for food.
In order to find a job with a film crew, most of them must spend an entire day waiting for an opportunity. There are over 3,500 registered extras in Hengdian, but there are only enough opportunities for 1,500 a day. "The number of extras has overwhelmed the number of jobs, and many of them have to stay all day with a camera crew to make sure they don't miss the chance," said an officer at Hengdian Group.
Though it is not well-paid and in most cases background actors don't even have speaking roles, the job makes many people feel closer to their dream. "I hope that one day a director will find that I have the talent to be an actress and hire me," said a girl who has worked in Hengdian for over two years.
Many hope to be the next Wang Baoqiang, a famous actor in China who was discovered by a director while working as an extra several years ago. Because of this dream, some people are willing to spend their whole lives moving from one crew to another. In Hengdian, some extras are in their 70s and 80s.
"Though I have the dream to be an actor, I do not want my son to do this all the time," said Xue. "The opportunity to be the next Wang Baoqiang is too rare."
Xue is now collecting money in the hopes that one day his son will run his own business. He also plans to work during the coming Spring Festival. "Going back to my hometown costs too much, and if we work during the festival we can earn more."
