iQIYI Revives a 90‑Year‑Old Lost Film Using AI

On November 6, 2026, iQIYI, China’s leading online entertainment platform, announced that its AI‑driven platform NadouPro enabled the creative restoration of the 1938 short film “Visiting Shanghai after Sixty Years.” The film, one of China’s earliest science‑fiction works, had been lost for nearly nine decades with all original prints, reels, and scripts gone.

The restoration was carried out by an eight‑person team within the iQIYI‑XMU Joint Laboratory of Film Restoration and was completed in just two months. The project has been shortlisted for the 2026 Future Images AI Unit category at the 39th Golden Rooster Awards, highlighting industry recognition of the AI‑based approach.

Technical Approach

Because no surviving footage existed, the team reconstructed the film from production still‑photos, posters, and newspaper clippings. NadouPro served as a centralized production hub, allowing the team to lock in permanent digital assets for each character’s facial features, proportions, and costumes. These assets were reused across all scenes, ensuring consistent character appearance throughout the two historical eras depicted – 1938 and 1998.

The platform’s 3D Director Studio provided precise control over character positioning, composition, and movement, enabling the directors to dictate camera angles, lighting, and visual style. The 1938 sequences were rendered in a black‑and‑white aesthetic with stable cameras and vintage lighting, while the 1998 portions adopted a documentary style with natural light and handheld camera movement.

Key Personnel Comments

  • Zidong JIANG, Member of the iQIYI‑XMU Joint Laboratory and Director of AI Restoration Technology, said NadouPro allowed the team to move beyond random image generation toward shots with clear directorial intent.
  • Enji YANG, Director of the new film, emphasized that traditional pre‑production steps such as script analysis, character design, and storyboard planning were performed before applying AI tools.
  • Aigong ZHANG, Chief Planner of the film and Director of the iQIYI‑XMU Joint Laboratory, noted that the project demonstrates the organic integration of traditional filmmaking craftsmanship with AI.

iQIYI’s AI Restoration Heritage

Since 2017, iQIYI has invested in AI‑based film restoration, initially deploying its proprietary ZoomAI suite for scratch repair, super‑resolution, noise reduction, and intelligent frame interpolation. Through its joint laboratory with Xiamen University, iQIYI has already restored several 4K classic titles for theatrical exhibition. Building on this experience, the company is now exploring the use of AI not only for conventional restoration but also for the creative reconstruction of lost works, aiming to bring classic films back to audiences in new forms.

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