Chinese Opera is a key part of Chinese New Year traditions, tracing back to the first dynasty of Imperial China. The majestic art form of musical theatre has since been supplanted by ever-changing modern entertainment. This year, the ambition for Apple’s annual CNY film is to reinvigorate the ancient art form with a movie-grade quality captured entirely with the latest iPhone 14 Pro.

Through the Five Passes is a coming-of-age story about a young opera practitioner who goes against all odds to give the performance of a lifetime, even if just for a mere five minutes. Based on a renowned Chinese Opera story, the title itself is a famous expression that embodies a powerful spirit to do whatever it takes to overcome adversity. The story celebrates the spirit of resilience, particularly following the turbulent year of 2022, when people pushed through despite the constant uncertainty of China’s Covid policies.

In the 6th year of Apple's Shot on iPhone Chinese New Year campaign, we continue to highlight the iPhone's movie-grade camera capabilities to consumers, but maintaining top-of-mind awareness during the noisy holiday season was challenging. As a foreign brand, we needed to build cultural relevance in a sensitive climate, as geopolitical tensions sparked a surge of nationalism in China.

The main film and BTS generated 470 million views, a new record for viewership. The campaign drove 125 million clicks through to Apple’s online store, over four times the traffic from the previous year. Audiences exposed to the campaign showed higher understanding of iPhone’s key features, plus increased purchase consideration and affinity for iPhone. 82% of non-iPhone owners reported strong consideration for iPhone as their next smartphone. Exposed audiences were more motivated to shoot with iPhone and improve their own filmmaking skills. Post campaign tracking also showed that 92% of adults surveyed agreed that Apple understands Chinese culture.

Through the Five Passes garnered positive reaction from industry and entertainment media, as well as the public. Many critics praised the film’s theme of resilience, remarking that it struck the right tone after a difficult 2022 for the country and its people.

In recent years, Chinese people have suffered unimaginable hardships through the pandemic. Cities were under lockdown for several weeks, unemployment skyrocketed as offices shut down, the youth grew restless as society was put on hold…The situation was grim, yet the people endured. We wanted to acknowledge what China had overcome and celebrate their spirit of resilience.



Through the Five Passes is a renowned Chinese Opera piece and an expression that means to do whatever needs to be done to overcome adversity. The film celebrates the resilient spirit of Chinese people during the turbulent year of 2022, through the most quintessential form of traditional arts—Chinese Opera.

In recent years, Chinese people have suffered unimaginable hardships through the pandemic. Cities were under lockdown for several weeks, unemployment skyrocketed as offices shut down, the youth grew restless as society was put on hold…The situation was grim, yet the people endured. We wanted to acknowledge what China had overcome and celebrate their spirit of resilience.