THE LOCATIONS
Taiwan (Formosa): As filming of "The Sand Pebbles" in Hunan Province, Mainland China, was an impossibility, old China and the Yangtze were recreated on the island of Taiwan and in Hong Kong. The production began on the rainy morning of November 22, 1965, in the port of Keelung. Here, the Shanghai Bund, as it appeared in 1926, was fashioned by production designer Boris Leven. One of the largest "shots" of the film, it covered an area of two square miles and called for one thousand extras, one hundred sampans, fourteen junks and period shipping in the harbor.
The next location was on a Taiwan military base, "8-Foot Gate," near Keelung. It was at this point that the cast of "The Sand Pebbles" met the "star" of the picture--the USS San Pablo. The gunboat, built in Hong Kong, was brought to Taiwan for four and one-half months of filming. "8-Foot Gate" represented a berth at Hankow.
While "The Sand Pebbles" was filmed at various places within the near vicinity of Taipei -- where rice paddies abound and the countryside resembles Old China -- main filming was done at the village of Tam Sui, on the river of the same name, which opens to the Formosan Straits. Tam Sui, representing "Changsha," was home for the company for more than three months. The gunboat was a permanent resident and departed for mid-river work three or four mornings a week.
Also in the Tam Sui area was "Paoshan," where one of the most gripping moments of "The Sand Pebbles" war filmed --The Death of a Thousand Cuts. The area of Tam Sui, a fishing town of 5,000 souls, was chosen because of its similarity to Hunan Province. It bears remarkable likeness, according to many former mainlanders.
Filming was also accomplished in the narrow, crowded streets of Taipei. Under difficult conditions, a typical Shanghai street was filmed. Another set was on heavily-traveled Di Hwa Street in the heart of Taipei. Location work on Taiwan was finished March 21, 1966.
Hong Kong: The back waters of Hong Kong and its green islands served as deeper water areas of the Yangtze; its waterfront also was changed at the Fire Brigade Dock to represent Hankow Bund. The company filmed on the edge of Red China for a period of two months, culminating with the battle staged in a narrow neck of water at Sai Kung.
The "junk fight" at Sai Kung, wherein the USS San Pablo is faced with a blockade, is one of the most unusual sea battles ever staged. In the 1800's and through the early 1900's, river pirates sometimes blocked off waters with an array of junks bound together by a heavy bamboo rope. The opposing forces in "The Sand Pebbles" used this technique to blockade the gunboat.
The battle alone took two months of preparation and the 1,000-foot bamboo rope which linked the junks together weighed twenty-five tons. Battle filming, first unit, lasted a month in Sai Kung waters. First unit work was completed May 15, 1966.
Studio: Sets in the studio included the San Pablo's steam engine; a brothel, "The Red Candle Happiness Gardens": and the story's mission, constructed on a half-acre at the Fox ranch at Malibu and fashioned after a Buddhist temple which still exists on the Chinese Mainland.
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