Zhang Yimou, one of China's most acclaimed film directors, brought his latest epic film Shadow on Sept 30.

Set in Three Kingdoms period (220-280), the film follows a story of a high-level military governor who uses a "shadow", or a body double, in a fight for the throne.

Shadow has won good response from viewers and achieved box office return of 502 million yuan ($72.88 million) by Oct 12, and it managed to salvage Zhang's filmmaking reputation since his last flop, The Great Wall, which was criticized for poor movie special effects and bad storyline.

But defects cannot belittle virtues; Zhang is a master of creating strong moods through color and scenery that play well with the plot of the movie.

And his artistry is well known, from the big screen to the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony and he continues to surprise audiences through his constant innovation.

In Shadow, he draws on China’s centuries-old tradition of ink-wash painting to craft costumes and production designs in rich shades of black, white and slate grey.

In Hero, three classic colors red, blue and white play an important part of, not only setting the general mood, but push the storytelling to a new height. And scenes in the movie are marvelously beautiful.

In House of Flying Daggers, the female lead's, solo dance who stars China's top actress Zhang Ziyi, the breathtaking fighting featured in a sea of bamboo forest all show movie-goers the beauty of Chinese culture. In the west, some critics have even hailed House of Flying Daggers as the most beautiful martial arts film ever made.

In The Flowers Of War, the charisma of oriental beauty and the magic of traditional Chinese dresses, known as qipao, has been shown to the extreme.

Here are some beautiful stills from Zhang's films, and hope you can enjoy a visual presentation of Chinese beauty.

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