Asia Pacific is an area filled with thriving cities, rich culture, and incredible scenery. It's no wonder why so many famous films have chosen to use locations filmed in the Asia Pacific region.

If you love movies as well as sightseeing, don't miss this list of popular movie locations that you must visit in the region.

1. Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) – New Zealand

Lord of the Rings was filmed in multiple locations in New Zealand and the country has seen a major boost in tourism. People from all over the world travel to New Zealand every year to see some of the most beautiful backdrops featured in film.

Some of these scenic film locations include the rolling Matamata Hills, Tongariro National Park, Southern Islands glaciers and the Southern Alps.

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2. Avatar (2009) – Hallelujah Mountain in Zhangjiajie, China

One of the highest grossing films of all time, Avatar is a box office phenomenon. The film is set on a fictional planet. It turns out that the stunning landscape is based on natural quartz sandstone peaks found in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

After the film's success, the local government officially renamed the South Sky Column, a 1,080 meter tall pillar in the area to Mount Hallelujah. Since then, the park has become very popular among domestic and foreign tourists.

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3. Crazy Rich Asians (2018) – Singapore

The romcom, which is based on Kevin Kwan's novel, Crazy Rich Asians, provides a fictional depiction of the lives of ultra-rich people in Singapore. Following the film's success, Singapore recorded a record high number of tourist visitors.

This film features popular tourist spots in Singapore such as:

• CHIJMES: a historic building in Singapore as the venue for a US$40 million film wedding,

• Marina Bay Sands: Rachel and Nick's farewell party.

• Newton Food Centre: Rachel's place for culinary tours in Singapore.

• Raffles Hotel: shown as Kingsford Hotel in the movie.

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4. Parasite (2019) – Seoul, South Korea

Parasite is the first foreign language (non-English) film to bag the Best Picture Award at the Oscars. Parasite is a social satire that depicts two families from Seoul who come from different backgrounds – one living in poverty and the other living comfortably in the rich. part of the city.

Following the film's success, interest in the film's location in Seoul has skyrocketed. Many foreigners have visited the Doijissal Supermarket (or Woori Supermarket as in the movie) as well as the stairs leading to the Jahamun Tunnel. This is one of the film's most important scenes and the site was specially chosen to highlight the class differences between the rich and the poor.

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5. The Beach (2000) – Phi Phi Islands, Thailand

The Beach was specially filmed on the beautiful Maya Bay, located on Koh Phi Phi Le, also known as the Phi Phi Islands. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Richard who travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map that leads to an island paradise, so he sets out to find it.

The film's cult success has led many tourists to visit the site every year to see its crystal clear waters, white sands, and unparalleled beauty. However, as a result of extreme overcrowding and environmental pollution, Thai authorities have closed Maya Bay in 2018 to allow the destroyed coral to regrow in the area. The area will reopen in mid-2021 with restrictions on the number of daily visitors.

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Reference: Webbeds