The 40 most popular chinese war movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Allied
2016 · 2h 4m · CN
In 1942, an intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. When they reunite in London, their relationship is tested by the pressures of war.


Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms
2023 · 2h 28m · CN
Based on the most well-known classical fantasy novel of China, Fengshenyanyi, the trilogy is a magnificent eastern high fantasy epic that recreates the prolonged mythical wars between humans, immortals and monsters, which happened more than three thousand years ago.


Once Upon a Time in the Middle East
2026 · 2h 21m · CN
Seeking a fresh start, chef Xu Fu travels to the Middle East to support his family and repay his debts. Alongside restaurant manager Ma Junsheng, he transforms the struggling Dragon Restaurant into a thriving business. But when war engulfs the city, their hard-won success is shattered and the restaurant becomes a refuge for those caught in the conflict. As danger closes in, Xu Fu must risk everything to protect his newfound community and preserve a small beacon of hope amid the devastation.


Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force
2025 · 2h 25m · CN
Taishi Wen Zhong led the army of Shang Dynasty including Deng Chanyu and four generals of the Mo Family to Xiqi. With the help of Kunlun immortals such as Jiang Ziya, Ji Fa led the army and civilians of Xiqi to defend their homeland.


Red Cliff
2008 · 2h 25m · CN
In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.


To Live
1994 · 2h 13m · CN
Married couple Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in mid-20th century mainland China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.


Operation Red Sea
2018 · 2h 18m · CN
A squad of the Jiaolong Commando Unit - Sea Dragon, a spec ops team of the Chinese Navy, carries out a hostage rescue operation in the nation of Yewaire, on the Arabian Peninsula, and fiercely fights against local rebel groups and Zaka, a terrorist organization.


Devils on the Doorstep
2001 · 2h 19m · CN
During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?


Red Cliff II
2009 · 2h 21m · CN
The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?


The Eight Hundred
2020 · 2h 27m · CN
In 1937, eight hundred Chinese soldiers fight under siege from a warehouse in the middle of the Shanghai battlefield, completely surrounded by the Japanese army.


The Battle at Lake Changjin
2021 · 2h 58m · CN
Korean War, winter 1950. In the frozen and snowy area of Changjin Lake, a bloody battle is about to begin between the elite troops of the United States and China.


Dead to Rights
2025 · 2h 17m · CN
During the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, a postman poses as a photo developer, helping Japanese forces while secretly sheltering Chinese refugees. He later risks his life evacuating them and revealing evidence of the atrocities.


The Flowers of War
2011 · 2h 26m · CN
A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.


Wolf Warrior 2
2017 · 2h 4m · CN
China's deadliest special forces operative settles into a quiet life on the sea. When sadistic mercenaries begin targeting nearby civilians, he must leave his newfound peace behind and return to his duties as a soldier and protector.


Shadow
2018 · 1h 56m · CN
In a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, the military commander has a secret weapon: a shadow, a look-alike who can fool both his enemies and the King himself. Now he must use this weapon in an intricate plan that will lead his people to victory in a war that the King does not want.


Mutant
2024 · 1h 33m · CN
In 2150, artificial intelligence mutated and replaced humans' control of the earth, and launched an eradication operation against humans. The surviving humans united together to form a resistance army, and with simple weapons, they fought a desperate battle with the artificial intelligence army.


Operation Mekong
2016 · 2h 4m · HK
The Chinese government launches a daring operation to arrest a violent drug cartel following the discovery of thirteen Chinese crew members' bodies on two ships sailing through the Mekong River.


Wolf Warrior
2015 · 1h 30m · CN
A Chinese special force soldier with extraordinary marksmanship is confronted by a group of deadly foreign mercenaries who are hired to assassinate him by a vicious drug lord.


The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge
2022 · 2h 29m · CN
Commander Wu Qianli leads the 7th Infantry Company soldiers to Funchilin Pass where they are tasked to destroy a bridge to stop enemy troops from retreating.


Railroad Tigers
2016 · 2h 4m · CN
A railroad worker in China in 1941 leads a team of freedom fighters against the Japanese in order to get food for the poor.


The Taking of Tiger Mountain
2014 · 2h 21m · CN
Yang Zirong disguises himself as a bandit to infiltrate and destroy a bandit group. He joins hands with a hostage, and together, they fight against the warlord, Hawk.


Red Silk
2025 · 2h 25m · RU
1927. Trans-Siberian Express. Secret documents that will determine the future of the USSR and China are being transported across Russia. Under the guise of ordinary passengers, foreign intelligence officers and real thugs are hiding, ready to do anything for the sake of documents. A young Red Army soldier and a former Tsarist agent have to team up to uncover a common enemy.


The King of Snipers
2023 · 1h 38m · CN
The genius sniper Anna is forced to accept an assassination assignment. In the process, she gradually finds her true calling to fight for kindness and to defend a greater love. Tai, a special agent for the UN army, stands up for justice when drug lords try to harm innocent citizens. The two join forces to block the bill to legalize drug cultivation and distribution in Libiwala. They fight to the death with the drug lord Luo Jie and eventually foil his plans, protecting the people from the drugs. This is the exciting story of them working together to save a nation.


Air Strike
2018 · 2h 7m · CN
An American pilot is sent to a Chinese province to teach a crew of would-be pilots how to fly war planes against the Japanese during World War II.


Break Through the Wu River
1961 · 1h 29m · CN
Story of the leading regiment of the First Branch of the Chinese Red Army for Workers and Peasants who defeats a brigade of enemy on the Wu River and conquers the river by 3 days of intelligent combat.


1911
2011 · 1h 39m · CN
China's first President Sun Yat-Sen and military commander Huang Xing lead the revolutionary Wuchang Uprising in a bid to put an end to the reign of the Qing Dynasty.


The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death
2024 · 2h 24m · CN
The movie focuses on the battle of Cheolwon, where the 63rd Army of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (CPVA) was ordered to enter the battlefield of Cheolwon in May 1951, just after a month-long battle, to fight against four divisions of the United Nations Army (UNA). The volunteers fought with bloodshed and finally brought the enemy to the negotiation table.


Zhang Ga the Soldier Boy
1963 · CN
No overview available


Battle of the Warriors
2006 · 2h 13m · CN
In 370 B.C, China was separated as seven nations and several other small tribes, one of these being the city state of Liang. The nation of Zhao is led by the terrifying Xiang Yangzhong who orders his troops to conquer the small city. Leaping to the defense of the people of Liang is 'Ge Li' from the Mo-Tsu tribe, their last hope from the terrors of Yangzhong's troops.


Dong Cunrui
1955 · 1h 40m · CN
This war film tells the story of a martyr who gave his life in order to save his comrades. It pays tribute to Dong at the same time as it glorifies the communist revolution and provides a model hero for the audience to emulate.


The Chinese Widow
2017 · 1h 37m · CN
It’s 1941 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has destroyed America’s morale. The US President Franklin D. Roosevelt then decides to risk it all by bombing Tokyo and raise more hope for his citizens. After completing its mission, a unit of the US Air Force is forced to make an emergency landing in China. Its commander Jack Turner (Emilie Hirsch) barely survives but gets rescued by Ying (Crystal Liu), a local widow who will stop at nothing to hide him from the Japanese occupant.


Xiang Xi Jiao Fei Ji (Part II)
1987 · CN
No overview available


Rescue at Dongji
2025 · 2h 14m · CN
Inspired by the real life rescue of over 300 British soldiers in 1942, Dongji Rescue is a rousing, action-packed story of heroism on the high seas. When the Japanese warship Lisbon Maru is torpedoed off the coast of Dongji Island, the lives of over 300 British POWs on board are at risk of being claimed by the sea. Their only hope is a small group of defiant Chinese fisherman who will do anything to rescue and protect them from their captors.


Reckoning Day
2025 · 1h 45m · CN
Wu Qing Qing, the young master of the Wolong Gang, has been betrayed after her family's massacre. From prey to hunter, she transforms into a hunter. Hidden in the shadows, behind every smile may lie a deadly dagger. A Japanese trading company infiltrates her inner circle, a mole is hidden among her closest relatives, and a web of intrigue unfolds. Trust is a luxury; every step is a precipice! How will she tear off those masks of hypocrisy? Is the traitor a member of the gang, an invading enemy, or even her own husband? The storm has arrived; "eliminating the traitor" becomes the only creed…


Youth
2017 · 2h 16m · CN
A group of performing art troupe members each face their own trials and tribulations in Chengdu; from escaping a family scandal to dealing with unrequited love, each experiences rejection that shapes their lives.


God of War
2017 · 2h 8m · CN
During the 16th century, pirates rule the Chinese coastline, pillaging the small villages and terrorizing the citizens. When maverick leader Commander Yu enlists the help of a sharp young general, they devise a plan to defeat the pirates. A violent clash of wit and weapons will decide who will rule the land.


The Children of Huang Shi
2008 · 2h 5m · AU
About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.


City of Life and Death
2009 · 2h 12m · CN
In 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army has just captured Nanjing, then-capital of the Republic of China. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, a six week period wherein tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.


Secret Decree
1984 · 1h 30m · CN
Set in the Anti-Japanese War, three different forces run into a complicated situation full of bloody conflicts. Who is fighting for country and who betrays?


Shanghai Fortress
2019 · 1h 47m · CN
Set in the future, the city of Shanghai battle to defend itself against an ongoing attack by an alien force that has attacked and laid siege to numerous cities around the globe in it's quest to harvest a hidden energy only found on earth.
Chinese cinema encompasses the Fifth Generation directors who broke through internationally in the 1980s, the wuxia martial-arts epic, and one of the largest domestic box offices in the world.
War films range from combat spectacle to anti-war argument, and often try to be both at once. The genre is a reliable index of how a country understands its own history.