Following John Woo film The Crossing: Part 1's release in 2014, Part 2 is set to hit domestic screens on July 30.

The Crossing was adapted from the real historic tragedy of the steamer Taiping which sunk on its way from Shanghai to Taiwan while carrying thousands of people trying to escape war in the Chinese mainland.

The story set in the 1940s focuses on three couples from different classes whose lives have been completely changed by the war.

After depicting the background and characters in Part 1, Part 2 will focus on depicting the disaster and its impact on the characters.

The film gathers several A-list Asian stars like Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiaoming, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Song Hye-kyo and Tong Dawei and is Woo's first film project after his recovery from laryngeal cancer.

Six years in the making and spending around 4 billion yuan ($644 million), the film has had to navigate some rather troubled waters, notably the death of one of its investors from a heart attack in 2014 almost causing the film to cease production.

The first film was harshly reviewed, with many criticizing that they found it odd that the steamer barely shows up in a film about a disaster at sea.

Global Times