The Battle at Lake Changjin

The Battle at Lake Changjin
Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese長津湖
Simplified Chinese长津湖
Literal meaningChangjin Lake
Hanyu PinyinChángjīn hú
Directed byChen Kaige
Tsui Hark
Dante Lam
Written byLan Xiaolong
Huang Jianxin
Produced byHuang Jianxin
Chen Kaige
Tsui Hark
Dante Lam
Starring
CinematographyPan Luo
Peter Pau
Edited byTsui Hark
Li Dianshi
He Yongyi
Music byElliot Leung
Zhiyi Wang
Production
companies
Distributed byDistribution Workshop
CMC Pictures
Release dates
  • 21 September 2021 (2021-09-21) (BIFF)
  • 30 September 2021 (2021-09-30) (China)
  • 11 November 2021 (2021-11-11) (Singapore)
Running time
178 minutes
CountryChina
LanguagesMandarin
English
BudgetUS$200 million
Box officeCN¥5.77 billion (US$913 million)

The Battle at Lake Changjin (Chinese: 长津湖) is a 2021 Chinese war drama film co-produced and co-directed by Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam, written by Lan Xiaolong and Huang Jianxin, and starring Wu Jing and Jackson Yee. It was commissioned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party as part of the Party's 100th anniversary celebrations. The film depicts the story of the North Korea-allied Chinese People's Volunteer Army, forcing U.S. forces to withdraw in a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War.

The Battle at Lake Changjin is the most expensive film ever produced in China, with a budget of $200 million. The film grossed $913 million at the worldwide box office, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2021. It surpassed Wolf Warrior 2, becoming the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time and the highest-grossing non-English film. On 5 February 2025, The Battle at Lake Changjin was surpassed by Ne Zha 2, which became the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time, the highest-grossing non-English film, and the highest-grossing film in a single market. A sequel to the film, The Battle at Lake Changjin II, was released on 1 February 2022.

The film's depiction of the battle has been described as containing historical inaccuracies and has garnered controversy in some countries, including South Korea. The film has also been described as propaganda.