Once Upon a Time in China is a 1991 Hong Kong biographical martial arts film directed and produced by Tsui Hark, who also wrote with Yuen Kai-chi, Leung Yiu-ming, and Elsa Tang. Jet Li stars as Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung. The film co-stars Yuen Biao, Jacky Cheung, Rosamund Kwan, and Kent Cheng. It is the first installment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series. It is a staple in the wuxia genre and regarded as one of the most influential martial arts films of all time.