Titanic sails again 25 years later

James Cameron, the legendary Hollywood director, who is also known for his Avatar franchise, tells China Daily that he read the story of the Chinese survivor in Titanic: An Illustrated History, a book written by Don Lynch and illustrated by Ken Marschall. The Chinese man was rescued by Harold Godfrey Lowe, the fifth officer of RMS Titanic and the only officer who returned to save people from the shipwreck.

"They were very good researchers. Lynch and the artist Marschall had done a beautiful book on the history of Titanic, which was also my inspiration for a lot of the imagery in the film," Cameron recalls during the video interview, adding that he had hired them as consultants for the movie.

With the inspiration, Cameron shot some footage featuring a Chinese passenger, played by his assistant Van Ling. The role first appears in a chaotic moment when Jack and Rose are trying to break through bars to get to the upper deck of the ship, and the cameo character can be seen floating on a piece of wood, awaiting rescue.

"I decided to shoot that (floating) scene because I thought it would be important. So, I grabbed Van and I said, 'OK, get over here, Van. And get on the raft. Just start yelling'. He (Van) said, 'My Mandarin is not so good.' I said: 'Do your best!'" says Cameron, gesturing with his hands to demonstrate the actions.