Magic mike

Web celebrity and actor Mike Sui performs in accents from different parts of the world in 12-minute short film he produced last year. He works on the production of the video. In the film, some social issues such as high housing prices are highlighted. [Photo/China Daily]

It took him about one month to write the story for his green train online film and learn the accents.

"The main thing is dialogues," he says. "Every accent has a catch phrase. I'm an observer of Chinese culture. I want to find small differences (in cultures) and how they clash with each other."

According to Sui, to imitate so vividly, one needs to pay close attention to people in daily life and practice different accents for hours.

He chose to imitate people from places with large populations, such as the provinces of Sichuan and Guangdong in China's south, because he wants them to feel a part of the "big cultural picture".

"It's a place where various people would gather together," he says of the old green trains. "I thought a plane would be fun too, but the train is a specialty and there are very few green trains still running now. I appreciate tradition."

It took only two days to shoot the short film in January last year, but Sui didn't unveil it online until a month ago. "You need the audience to be in the same mood. I put the video online in January 2015 because it's time to go home and celebrate Spring Festival with families. The train will remind them of that too," he says.