encouraged by his brother-in-law in hong kong, who was a filmmaker, tong started his film career there in 1979 by working behind the scenes. in 1991, tong directed his first film, the self-funded "the stone age warriors" (魔域飞龙). the film received high praises from some famous film critics, which attracted the attention of golden harvest. tong was then invited to join the company as a film director.