They arrive bright-eyed, with heads filled with visions of stardom. But reality in movie town can quickly send dreams crashing down to earth. Han Bingbin spends a week mingling with would-be stars on the film sets of Hengdian.

Night falls, and the heat subsides. In the dusky light, groups of young people slowly appear on the streets and gather to chat, play cards or simply loiter. Suddenly, a young man with clipboard and pen appears among them and there is a spike of excitement. The enthusiastic crowd closing in on him soon hides him from sight. It's a casting call, and the young people on the street are extras and bit-part actors waiting for work and a chance to live the dream of making it on the big screen. This is Hengdian World Studios, the biggest film set in China, located in Dongyang in the heart of Zhejiang province. In its 16 years of existence, it has become a crucible of hope for thousands of aspiring youths seeking their 15 minutes of fame. They want more, of course, and travel to Hengdian because they think it is the starting point of their journey to glory. In 1996, the Hengdian studios were built for director Xie Jin's epic film, The Opium War. They have now expanded into a full-fledged film base with 28 large-scale outdoor sets and 11 indoor studios built over 330 hectares. More than a thousand films and television series have been shot here since, and the numbers are increasing. Last year alone, 150 productions were filmed here, among which one fourth were major movies. That's the magnet that draws people like Meng Xiangkai. Amid the crowd milling about the casting director, he is noticeably short. Frowning at the jostling human wall a head taller than he is, the 22-year-old looks perplexed.

It has been a long hard journey from his rural Shandong home to here. Meng was unhappy with his job as an auto mechanic after he graduated from vocational school. He wanted the brighter lights.

After a frustrating failure in a provincial TV talent contest, he decided to try Hengdian to realize his acting dreams. But in the two weeks since he arrived, Meng has appeared in only two scenes - in which he played a bandit and then a laborer.

He was paid 200 yuan ($31), barely enough to cover his rent.

In contrast, Meng's friend Zhang Xinchi thinks Hengdian is still the best place to be. The 21-year-old from Sichuan province used to wait every day outside the Beijing Film Studio for a chance, but the talent pool in the capital is just too big and migrants like him are left out in the cold.

At least in Hengdian, he says, there is a support network for people like him.

Actors' licenses issued by the union. [Photo by Han Bingbin/China Daily]

Zhang and Meng met online in a chat room called The Same Dream. This group of more than 1,000 aspiring actors waits on the sidelines as extras and bit-part actors. They share their experiences online with newcomers, and provide real-time help and support for newbies at Hengdian.

The first day Zhang came to Hengdian, he was greeted by a chat room member named Le Tian who then helped him rent a room and got him registered with the actors' union.

Zhang and Le Tian are now neighbors in a four-story village house. Like many other houses in Hengdian, the apartments are partitioned into cubicles for the "Hengdian drifters", as the locals jokingly name the young actors.

The "drifters" are mostly young men from the countryside, not highly educated and with no formal training in acting. They come armed with nothing but dreams. Often, they have abandoned more profitable prospects back home, as well as their parents' expectations.

According to statistics from the Hengdian Actors' Union, there are more than 6,000 actors registered; about 4,000 are between the ages of 20 and 30.

When production companies send out a casting call for extras, agents at the actors' union look into their databases to match talent to roles. [Photo by Han Bingbin/China Daily]