In the original Huo Yuanjia, Yang Ziqiong plays an official of the Olympic Committee. Huo Yuanjia's whole story is based on her story, and the end of the film returns to her story. Throughout the film, Yang Ziqiong plays a role that has nothing to do with Huo Yuanjia's own story, and his identity is more like a clue.
It is his good intention to make such a design in the script. According to the reporter, Huo Yuanjia is the representative work of Jet Li's martial arts films. He always hoped that China Wushu would become an official event of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, so he specially arranged for Yang Ziqiong to play the role of an official of the Olympic Committee to express the long history and profoundness of China Wushu.
After the first copy of Huo Yuanjia was made, it was shown on a small scale. As a result, many people in the industry suggested that the film was too long, a little too long, and the Olympic theme that the creator tried to express was not closely related to the story of Huo Yuanjia. Yu Rentai, the director, integrated the opinions of experts from all sides and made a substantial re-editing of the film, including the adjustment of narrative structure.
Huo Yuanjia after "slimming" is 40 minutes shorter than the original. In addition to the content related to the Olympic theme being deleted, a heavy action scene between Jet Li and Thai boxing champion Betcha was also forced to be deleted because it affected the rhythm of the film. The crew told the reporter, "Jet Li apologized to Yang Ziqiong who made a special trip back to Hong Kong to shoot this film. Yang Ziqiong expressed his understanding and hoped to have the opportunity to cooperate with Ajie and director Yu Rentai again. "