The propensity for rural settings and folk/peasant-based influences
Examples(folk/peasant traditions): The Horse Thief, On the Hunting Ground, Gabbeh, A Mongolian Tale, Song of Tibet, Yellow Earth ...
Examples (rural setting): All the above + Abbas Kiarostami films, Hou Hsiao-Hsien films, Samira Makhmalbaf films,
Note the influence of Wu Tianming at the Xi'an Film Studio in legitimising the genre termed 'western' as any film based in one of the autonomous provinces of China. This led to the production of several more rural-based films, but really there were other reasons behind this common feature of many Fifth Generation films in the 1980s. Firstly, these directors had all been sent to the countryside as zhiqing during the Cultural Revolution and had formative experiences there which were a key source of their desire to express themselves. Secondly, they had been sent to, and found more freedom at, smaller regional studios in the provinces.
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