Since director Zhang Yimou began shooting his new project, "Amazing Tales: Three Guns," earlier this year, little word has gotten out about the film, except that it's a low-cost thriller-comedy and a remake of the Coen Brothers' "Blood Simple." Huashang Newspaper's reporters visited the film's shoot location in Gansu Province to get some first-hand information.

The location, which is in the Danxia Scenic Area in the city of Zhangye, is a geomorphologic attraction known for its scarlet stones. The production team left to film in Beijing on July 4 and is expected to return on August 5, the newspaper reported.

An ancient Chinese building has been set up in the scenic area as the "Mazi" noodle restaurant in the film.

"It cost about 600,000 yuan (US$ 87,825). The local manufacturers couldn't make bricks and tiles like this. Every brick of the building were transported from Anhui and Hebei Provinces," an anonymous housekeeper at the building was quoted as saying.

The source also revealed information about the characters.

Comedian and this year's sensation Xiao Shen Yang plays a feminine role, which he is best known for. "I saw him wearing a bellyband (a traditional Chinese undergarment) and knickers," the housekeeper said.

"Zhao Benshan plays the head of a horse caravan. The film only features one scene of him. Yan Ni is the landlady of the noodle restaurant," he said. "Sun Honglei showed up in the end of June but didn't shoot any scenes. It seems his injured hand hadn't recovered."

The buildings used in the filming will be retained in the future as another attraction of the scenic area, a management spokesperson told the reporters.