Actor Huang Xiaoming. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Actor Huang Xiaoming suffered from overeating curry, a barefoot walk on scorching sand and backpacking the weight of a man during the shooting of the upcoming film Xuan Zang.

Now near the release of the biographical drama based of the real life of the title role — a Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) Buddhist master — Huang looks back and finds all the challenges have been worthwhile.

The feature-length film, jointly produced by China and India, will be released in the two countries on April 29.

At a Monday event in Beijing to announce the premiere date, director Huo Jianqi says the shooting made him walk into the inner world of Buddhists and the monk Xuan Zang.

"It teaches me to be more tolerant while facing miseries and difficulties," says Huo. "The movie also re-creates the persistence that Xuan Zang showed during his legendary journey."

Inspired from actual history, the tale chronicles Chinese monk Xuan Zang's pilgrimage to India to seek classic Buddhist texts around 1,300 years ago. His 50,000-kilometer journey meant crossing 110 countries and regions in 19 years.

Alongside Huang as the protagonist Xuan Zang, the cast also features Hong Kong actor Ken Tong, Taiwan actor Andrew Lien and Canada-born actor Vivian Dawson.

Most of the cinematography was shot in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Gansu province, and in India.