Respect for nature also played a large part in the production process.

"There was great effort put in to protect the environment," Annaud said. "If there was no road, we drove on planks to protect the ground from our vehicles. Sometimes the crew carried equipment on their shoulders."

In addition, many steps were taken to ensure no animals were harmed during filming, said lead actor Feng Shaofeng. "The production team experimented a lot and made very detailed plans."

In one particular scene, Feng recalled, "we wanted a wolf to swim across the river, but it would not cooperate. So the director jumped in the water to try and coax it across: It was a cold day."

Chinese producer Wang Weimin said it took four years to train the three generations of 16 wolves that feature in the film.

All the wolves were given names and they, along with their animal co-stars, are included in the film's credits.

Compared with bears and tigers, which the director has also worked with, wolves, he said, were "more complicated".

The film will be also be released in the Mongolian language, Wang said. "Many ethnic Mongolians only know a little Mandarin. We hope it will be screened on the grassland."

The China-France co-production will hit Chinese cinemas on Feb 19.

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