 He is normally considered part of the fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers (a group that includes Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou and Tian Zhuangzhuang), due to shared traits in his works, although he was not a strictly a member of the inaugural 1982 class of the Beijing Film Academy.Additionally, Huang's films are distinguished from his contemporaries in that they focused on urban contemporary life, as contrasted to historical dramas, as well as for their satirical observations of the Chinese bureaucracy.Huang was born in Xi'an, though his ancestral hometown was in Hebei.