Hu Jintao often seen as first-among-equals with his Politburo Standing Committee colleagues. Some called China's political landscape during Hu's era one of "nine dragons taming the water" (), that is, nine PSC members each ruling over their own fief. In addition, Hu not only faced a profusion of special interest groups and political factions within the party, his ability to implement a cohesive program was also constrained by the influence of former leader Jiang Zemin. Consequently, there is debate on how much power Hu held personally to effect change. Nevertheless, within the context of the system he was placed in, Hu was
King Hu heroine as the central protagonist. Leaving the Shaw Brothers Studio in 1966, Hu travelled to Taiwan, where he made another "wuxia" movie, "Dragon Inn". "Dragon Inn" broke box office records and became a phenomenal hit and cult classic, especially in Southeast Asia. This tense tale of highly skilled martial artists hidden in an inn was said to be the inspiration for Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) and Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" (2004). In 2003, the award-winning Malaysian-born Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang made "Goodbye, Dragon Inn", a tribute to Hu, in which all the action takes place