List of Chinese film directors

''The following is a list of notable film directors from Mainland China.''

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Cai Chusheng, major leftist filmmaker in the 1930s, later fell victim to the Cultural Revolution.
Cai Shangjun, Chinese screenwriter and director
Cao Baoping
Joan Chen, Chinese actress and director.
Chen Kaige, major figure of the Fifth Generation, known for his epic Farewell My Concubine was the first Chinese film to win Cannes' coveted Palme d'Or.
Chen Liting major figure of the second generation.
Cheng Bugao

Dai Sijie, French novelist and director, born in China.
Diao Yi'nan, screenwriter and director.
Domee Shi, Chinese-Canadian storyboard artist and director, first woman director of a Pixar short film, Bao (film)

Feng Gong, comedic actor and sometimes-director.
Feng Xiaoning, art designer turned director, part of the 1982 graduating class of the Beijing Film Academy
Feng Xiaogang, director of popular films, including several "New Year" genre films.
Fei Mu, major auteur of the 1930s and 1940s, famed for his masterpiece, Spring in a Small Town.

He Jianjun, Sixth Generation director.
He Ping, director known for mixing Chinese and Western tropes.
He Qun, a graduate of the 1982 class of the BFA as a member of the art department; later shifted to direction, including Country Teachers, the Golden Rooster winner of 1994.
Hou Hsiao-hsien, leading figure in Taiwan's New Wave cinema.
Hou Yong, noted cinematographer for Tian Zhuangzhuang, Zhang Yimou, and others; occasional film director.
Hu Mei, female Fifth Generation director.
Huang Jianxin, Fifth Generation director known for his films set in urban environments.
Huang Shuqin, female film director.
Huang Zuolin, important playwright and film director; a student of Bernard Shaw.
Ann Hui,, major female director based in Hong Kong, and a leading figure of the Hong Kong New Wave.
Huo Jianqi, commercially successful film director.

Jia Zhangke, leading figure of China's Sixth Generation.
Jiang Wen, famous Chinese leading man-turned-director.
Jian Yi, Chinese independent filmmaker, artist, social entrepreneur. Founder of IFChina Original Studio

Li Pingqian
Li Shaohong, female Fifth Generation director.
Li Wenbing
Li Yang, Sixth Generation director notable for his film Blind Shaft.
Li Yu, female director.
Ling Zifeng.
Liu Bingjian, Sixth Generation director.
Liu Fendou, primarily a screenwriter for Zhang Yang, Liu has recently branched into producing and directing.
Liu Hao.
Liu Jiayin, experimental filmmaker.
Liu Miaomiao, female Fifth Generation director.
Lou Ye, Sixth Generation director whose many run-ins with state authorities have hampered his filmmaking opportunities.
Lu Chuan, Sixth Generation director notable for the environmental drama Kekexili: Mountain Patrol.
Lu Xuechang, Sixth Generation director.
Lü Yue, Fifth Generation cinematographer-turned-director.
Luo Luo

Peng Xiaolian, female Fifth Generation Chinese director known for her Shanghai-based films.

Vivian Qu, female director of the award-winning filmTrap Street, and the producer of Black Coal, Thin Ice.

Shao Zuiweng, founder of Tianyi Film Company and director of many of its films.
Shen Fu, major director who emerged in post-war China with important films like Myriad of Lights.
Shen Xiling, important director during the 1930s.
Sheng Zhimin, independent film director.
Shi Dongshan, Lianhua Film Company director active in the 1930s and 1940s.
Shi Hui, actor and director; committed suicide during the Anti-Rightist Campaign.
Shui Hua, major director of the 1950s and 1960s.
Shi Runjiu, young director and part of the Sixth Generation.
Sun Daolin, veteran actor and director.
Sun Yu, one of the most important early directors of Chinese cinema.

Tang Xiaodan.
Tian Zhuangzhuang, major Fifth Generation director, his 1993 film Blue Kite was banned by China with Tian forced out of filmmaking for nearly ten years before his return with Springtime in a Small Town in 2001.
Tsui Hark, major male director based in Hong Kong, and a leading figure of the Hong Kong New Wave, known for his Once Upon a Time in China film series.

Wan brothers, animators.
*Wan Laiming
*Wan Guchan
*Wan Chaochen
*Wan Dihuan
Wang Bing, documentary filmmaker.
Wang Chao, Sixth Generation filmmaker.
Wang Guangli, modern Chinese director, active since 1997.
Nanfu Wang, documentary filmmaker from Jiangxi.
Wang Ping, the first female director of the People's Republic of China.
Wang Quan'an, Sixth Generation director, and winner of the 2007 Golden Bear for his film, Tuya's Marriage.
Wang Shuo, famous novelist, screenwriter, and one-time director of the film, Father
Wang Xiaoshuai, leading Sixth Generation filmmaker.
Wei Shiyu Louisa Hong Kong–based female Chinese filmmaker, script translator, producer and educator.
Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong film director, born in Shanghai.
Wu Shixian, Venice and Sundance Film Festival-winning Chinese American writer-director born in Taiwan. Also directed the popular indie romantic comedy Waiting Alone.
Wu Tianming, a member of the so-called "Fourth Generation," his role as head of the Xi'an Film Studio meant he often oversaw the works of several of his successors, notably Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige.
Wu Wenguang, documentary filmmaker.
Wu Yigong, director active in the 1980s and early 1990s, also a film producer.
Wu Yonggang, a major director from the 1930s, perhaps best known for his silent film, The Goddess.
Wu Ziniu, Fifth Generation director.

Edward Yang, major figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema, best known for his film Yi Yi.
Yang Fengliang, Chinese film director in the 1980s and 1990s.
Yang Lina, female documentary film director
Yin Lichuan, female director.
Ying Liang, independent film director.
Ying Yunwei
Yuan Muzhi, actor and director who gained prominence in the 1930s.

Zhang Guoli, actor turned director.
Zhang Jianya, Fifth Generation director, noted for his urban comedies and more recently for his action/thriller films.
Zhang Junxiang
Zhang Junzhao, Fifth Generation director.
Zhang Lu, Chinese director of Korean ethnicity.
Zhang Nuanxin, female Chinese director, best known for her work Sacrifice of Youth.
Zhang Shichuan, one of the founding fathers of Chinese cinema.
Zhang Yang
Zhang Yibai, Chongqing-born filmmaker, known for his urban dramas.
Zhang Yimou, one of the most successful Fifth Generation directors, Zhang's more recent films reflect a shift towards big budget historical epics.
Zhang Yuan, major figure of the Sixth Generation.
Zhao Wei, famous Chinese leading female actor-turned-director.
Zheng Junli, actor-director.
Zheng Zhengqiu, often considered one of the founding fathers of Chinese cinema, associated with the Mingxing Film Company.
Zheng Xiaolong, one of the most successful TV series directors in mainland China, board director of China Film Academy. His award-winning TV series include "Golden Marriage" in 2008 and 2009, as well as "Legend of Zhen Huan" in 2012.
Zhou Chengzhou, He focuses on filmmaking in the field of spiritual awareness.
Zhou Xiaowen, Fifth Generation director.
Zhou Bing, one of the most famous documentary film director in China, works including The Forbidden City, South of the Ocean, Buddha and the Snow Leopards, etc.
Zhu Shilin
Zhu Wen, author and director.