Wandering in the YouTube maze, after a fix of Z.Tao songs (he's got two new ones there, while Zhang Zhehan has another one...) I found that this drama has been re-titled FLIRTING WITH MY ENEMY and is being appreciated by 4K watchers at least in the first of the 40 episodes. In case someone is looking for them, I thought to bring the good news here. I did not have time to watch it all back in August 2022 (too tied up with LLTG and LBFAD and later by a number of other ones before Lighter and Princess and again some dozens before The Forbidden Flower and now Road Home and New Vanity Fair), although I was aware of the stink that targeted its last episodes. Someday perhaps, I'll get back to make my own opinion... Although I did spoil myself by watching last episode first, back in September 2022 when some were lamenting that airing had come to an abrupt stop, and I still found that ep40, lol,
Skimming through ep1, I just noticed a familiar face from the Forbidden Flower in ep1 of GoE8, btw: Huang Yi who played Guest role Youxi in the kitchen there, before becoming the PTSD suffering mom of He Ran in recently completed TFF. It is fun recognizing actors or actresses from other dramas after a while!
But there are plain too many dramas to choose from. I may already have watched too many! What am I doing checking on these MDL pages for news or a laugh ?? I think drama fatigue will soon catch up with me and I will need to remove myself without screens in another corner of the galaxy, for needed rest, if I want to escape c-drama addiction and possible hemorrhoids from too much sitting binge-watching !! Wish me health !
I see that you are a Seven Tan fan. (I do also like all that I saw where she was cast, although not being inducted in her fandom group 😊). You even awarded 9.5 (like I did 😊) to The Sword and the Brocade where the age difference is comparable to TFF between Wallace Chung and Seven Tan (46 and 31 at the time, playing a 35+/16 (or so) couple then with ML character also already being father of a child).
BUT DUDE Perhaps you could use the spoiler tag more, when conversation is veering away from watched drama. Especially if you state something very negative (unless your purpose is to state a real hate and wanting to influence watchers to your negative views?). You can even add spoiler tag in "editing" previous messages to avoid such negative influencing if it was an oversight.
See, I have an unpopular opinion about one actress in one drama : I hated her in that drama, still do, and it made me very careful about mentioning it, because I ended up really hating the whole thing. Of course, I avoid from now on watching anything featuring that cold (frozen fish) actress who ruined in my opinion a possibly watchable if unremarkable and ultimately unbelievable and overlong story where ML was clearly (to me) struggling with the character he needed to embody. But I won't be so callous as to mention her name and SPOIL IT for new audience or sadden those who still love her, and in the comments I made about my dislike at the time, I always used spoiler tag.
I'm off to watch more of NVF and RR, looking forward to RH episodes tomorrow evening, 😊
Her parents divorced and her Dad kicked her out of the house.
Here is an answer to this question, copied from an answer in Quora by a Chinese student (B.A. from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, graduated 2023) using amounts converted to US dollars for international readers' convenience to understand how much it costs to study at university for Chinese citizens in China:
"Most Chinese universities are public (almost all good universities in China is public). But they still charge The tuition fees depend on your university. Top universities mostly charge you about 800 USD to 1500 USD a year, mostly 800. Arts, software engineering, and medical sciences as majors may cost you more than 800, up to 1500. Seeing that most Chinese students choose to live on campus, you may want to add 100 USD extra for dormitory fees. As for the less good universities including the private ones, you may have to pay up to 3000 USD a year. The dormitory fees also vary. Those that have overseas background may also cost you much, like the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), Shanghai-New York University, etc. The tuition fees depends on the universities. CUHK SZ may cost you 15 000 USD. -- Also, there are exceptions. Many normal universities are free for future teachers. But they may have to work in distant areas in exchange. Basically, Chinese universities still need the Chinese citizens to pay the tuition fees, only they’re often very low, compared to the US."
But the commenter did not mention that there are, like in any country, students who get scholarships (granted to university students in need, if they have excellent results in some desired areas or sports, or come from poor minority families, or are enrolled in army training. From what I understand that's how Tibetan singer alan dawa dolma enrolled in music studies in Beijing, coming from Danba valley in Sichuan which s picturesque but not affluent). Many students from families with no or little funding for their children are money pinchers, not because they are stingy, but because they are very realistic about their needs and what money means. They may do light part time jobs, like our heroine. (Remember that Mao Zedong had a job as part time librarian while auditing some courses in Beida, back in 1918-1919? It's never been that unusual to do study and work. ) One thing to remember is anyway : not to flaunt wealth in China, except in some bling bling fashion circles. With ordinary people, it is best not to show too much the possible economic or power difference, and to be careful not to embarrass them with favors or gifts they can't equate. The drama The Story of Xing Fu showed how money and power is envisioned by some, and Xing Fu's sister's plight (about university acceptance that she was scammed out of ), also portrayed some of what it means for poorer students.
Long time lurker. First time poster. It took Road Home to push me to sign up to MDL. The last time I was so into…
Welcome.! Same for me : watched all those and liked them all, so it was Tan Songyun's name in the cast which attracted me first when I checked that this was not going to be a protracted remake of the Zhang Yimou movie of same English name.
I'm an eclectic drama watcher, so I am not exclusively attached to actor/actress or genres. Watching simultaneously with RH: New Vanity Fair, and Royal Rumours which also start nicely. Road Home gives me some similar vibes to The Forbidden Flower (which is neither scandalous or outrageous although perhaps some would like to see it so, but there are haters everywhere, and also people who dislike desperate love stories like Romeo and Juliet... While watching the Forbidden Flower, I was thinking back to excellent The Sword and The Brocade, musing about what it could have been like if Wallace Chung had been cast instead of the younger Jerry Yan. Concluding that Jerry Yan was the best actor for that role, finally). But if you like more sedate love stories, do try Hi Venus, if you haven't watched it already.
Still in the middle of watching ep 7.What kind of parents arrange a marriage in behalf of their son without telling…
drama trope. There always has to be one, or a few. Haven't we gotten used to that ? However realistic it looks, in any drama, it is still not reality. At best it is playing on archetypes, since the distant mythological stories...
If you really love Jerry Yan, you should have put your remarks about your rejection of his latest drama in spoiler tag.
Also, bear in mind that Jerry Yan does not look his age, and is not playing the overbearing middle aged CEO lusting after a nymphet in that drama, so age difference is not what comes immediately to mind when you watch the first episodes without having your view tinted by other people's reports and prejudices. I try to always watch a drama without reading anything about it or even watching trailers : that's how I stumbled on this one, which to me is a real gem. The young woman character can be irritating in her bluntness and urgency, but it is totally her free choice to pursue a more experienced and delicately considerate lover, even though not in her age or social group (she is rich but does not care for money since she is aware about her probably very short life span, so to her, love and art are her only life driving force) He is not poor, but not very affluent, likes to do handiwork and gardening as an art, almost without a care for money reward either. They both need to be loved, her more than him, but they end up head over heels while the secrets around them are randomly revealed without any fanfare but accepted as privacy. They have no time for lasting anger and even jealousy. It is a really beautiful melodrama, so you probably would suspend your bias if you like love stories, details, art, an excellent OST with carefully chosen songs, and if you like Jerry Yan. I am not part of his fandom. I actually did not particularly like his Daoming Si in MG 2001 (preferring the Hua Ze Lei character; and I also preferred the corresponding Hanazawa Rui, Jihu, Ren or Tenma Hase in the other variations on the hana yori dango story that I all watched to get an overview of the BOF/MG phenomenon. Well, OK, I may have "second lead syndrome" since I was also rooting for Luo Yunxi's Runyu in Ashes of Love lol, ). So I only watched the other main dramas of Jerry Yan after a few episodes of TFF, but even though they are nice, I still think TFF is his best role. Albeit I am not really into actor or actress worship, I am amused by the phenomenon of fandoms around the younger actors. This is btw one subject tackled in the currently airing New Vanity Fair drama that I also started this weekend. That one features Huang Zitao in possibly one of his best roles too.
I did but how come rating came down in a day is some doing some mischief.
Same thoughts. Well, I'll be off to watch Z.Tao in New Vanity Fair over the weekend, then. My tastes are eclectic, but I also like the Kungfu Panda, hehehe. And Chen Feiyu from L&P, and Jerry Yan from TFF, and Wu Lei from LLTG, and Dai Gaozheng from Maid's Revenge, and Yang Yang from The King's Avatar and You Are My Glory, and Li Xian from Meet Yourself, and Wang Hedi from LBFAD, and Xu Kai from Arsenal Military Academy, and Bai Jingting from Reset, and Ren Jialun from One and Only, and Luo Yunxi from Love Is Sweet, and (list incomplete)... Ok, I will have to fill a book with nice young actors details : definitely adding Jing Boran. Focusing on my best loved dramas of post 2020.
btw I know some will say they disagree with throwing 10s to show appreciation, but that's what I already did, to be one who counter the trolls. 10 for Gui Lu from me at ep10 and unless catastrophe, I will leave it at that.
haah it had sexual frustration, to much for public tv lol
Hm. Ashes of Love was a TV drama (Jiangsu TV) and featured a very funny nosebleed scene that stayed in my memory ; after that one, I always chuckled when I saw such nosebleeds in other c-dramas. Although the trope may be traced further back, perhaps even to non fantasy Meteor Garden and dramas inspired by the rather violent love and bullying there (which was the one where the FL got her nose smashed by a basketball and ML or SML helpfully came to rescue with a handkerchief while she was washing the blood away ? That was substitute "arousal nosebleed" too, of course.)
Oh yes! That one was ..... 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 yummy! Esp taking in the cut scenes!! But don't go there if you have a strong bias and prejudice against age difference, against Jerry Yan, who is a fine actor there, or against dramas with open or sad ending. Personally, I loved that drama and its haunting OST songs. I only watched JY dramas after TFF except Meteor Garden 2001-2002 which I watched long time ago and rewatched (together with the J, SK, PRC and Thai variations and spinoffs, to appreciate the "phenomenon") in early 2023. I now believe JY's role in TFF was his best one: nobody could have played "Xiao Han" better. Not even Wallace Chung. For those who like beautiful places, art, colors, steamy melodrama, that one is a must!
Having traveled the roads to Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and in Gansu + Xinjiang (Turpan-Ürümqi highway, and Kashgar-Karakpram highway, Altay-Kanas lake...) I can say that it is totally impossible to drive overnight (furthermore with one driver only) from Beijing to northwest Xinjiang. With a flight from Beijing to Dunhuang and catching in a remote station a train to Turpan, next driving the Turpan Ürümqi highway, and flying Ürümqi to Kashgar, it was a 6 days journey (with one day spent at destinations to explore interesting archeological and other interesting places, so "chabuduo" 2 days with flying and bus stretches + 1 night travel in sleeper train. Of course, there are bullet trains? No, there is no bullet train connecting the Beijing and Ürümqi yet ; the two overnight trains Z69, Z179 depart from Beijing West Railway Station and arrive at Urumqi Railway station and the duration is about 31 to 38 hours. Despite the possible Lanzhou-Ürumqi bullet train stretch, it does not reduce the duration much bc of interchange. Flight from BJ is the more reasonable option.)
The novel put the border city where LYC was stationed at Erenhot, which is much closer to Beijing, but in winter, and with the rather low speed limits on even the most modern highways, it would take quite longer than an overnight journey. BJ Erenhot is quite a drive. 663 km / 412 miles, 7+ hrs drive estimate without pause (but one at least is needed),
But BJ -Kanas or Hemu (as in the drama, if Qining was Altay/Hemu) is a different proposition : China is a very big country and roads are not all on flat terrain, too...
Beijing to Kanas Lake by car is about 3500 km / 2145 miles and the estimated 39 hrs journey is only an estimation. Professional drivers are not allowed to drive more than 10-15 hours a day. So: that journey would be 3 days minimum with minimum 6 sizable stops. Lu YanChen may be an experienced driver who does not fear doing "truckers duty" driving long hours as sole driver, in all kinds of weather, including black ice and heavy snow, but I doubt he'd have taken the risk of hauling GX on such a harrowing and long journey!
Besides, speed limits are not high : Speed limits on national highways are 80 Km/h (50 Mp/h), or 40 Km/h (25 Mp/h where the highway is single lane). The G100 series indicates national highways radiating from Beijing, the G200 numbers are highways that run east to west, and the G300 series from north to south. -- On motorways, usually toll express ways , speed limits are generally 120 Km/h (75 Mp/h) on city-to-city routes, while on express routes within cities the limit is 100 Km/h (62 Mp/h).
Friends who flew in 2019 from Chengdu to Altay drove from there to Kanas Lake in a 5+ hrs journey: they would not have attempted the complete 39hrs car driving time non stop from end to end. (about same distance as between BJ and Kanas Lake, but different terrain).
I like to nitpick, lol! Nonetheless, I vastly enjoyed ep11!!
Did GX get pregnant before marriage according to novel??
Without a birth permit the child's name could not be included on the family's household register (Hukou system). So, the child wouldn't be able to register to school, get train or plane tickets, apply for ID card when it grew up, etc. Recently, because the family planning policy relaxed, it is said that the obtaining of certificate could be done after giving birth to baby.
In the days of the one child policy (1973-2013); there used to be hefty fines for lawbreakers who exceeded the number of children allowed But keep in mind that the one-child policy applied to Han, mostly in cities, and did not apply to most minority people: Uighur and Tibetan could have as many kids as they would, (I am not even talking about Ewenki nomads or Hezhe people in Heilongjiang who are so tiny groups that they are almost considered endangered species, so of course no limit applied then and now to their families), Besides, policy did not apply to twin or multiple births, and there were allowances for 2 children if first child was a girl in the countryside, or handicapped, or parent(s) was/were from one child family, or were divorced and remarried to someone with no child, or one parent was minority. There were also local exemptions, such as Han Chinese in southern Xinjiang were allowed to have two children since 2012. And also allowance if second child was birthed 7 years or more after first (some Han friends used this to have a second son in BJ in the early 2000s They would ideally have preferred a daughter, but could not choose since it was forbidden to reveal sex before birth; besides, they were happy enough having a second child anyway.). "Anyway the policy was changed to the 2/3 child policy in 2016 and the 3 child limit in 2021. Currently the 3 child policy is still in effect but in late 2021 all the fines and penalties were removed. That doesn’t mean that the policy doesn’t still exist what has happened is that China is now trying to encourage births and it looks like a lot of these incentives will only apply to the first 3 children but … time will tell if that changes as well." Many young couples in the PRC, esp those raised in cities and so pampered in youth that they are ingrained selfish, are reluctant to have even one child now, because of cost to raise it and inconvenience!! Like in Japan, birth rate has dropped to almost alarming level, so making trouble for those who do have a child and the means to raise it properly is undesirable, and the PRC always having had a pragmatic approach to debatable regulations, there is imo zero chance that an affluent single mom be harassed by authorities.
There's only one episode today (ep11) and the schedule foresees a break until Monday when the airing will resume with two episodes M-Th, one episode Fr-Sat in the week March 20-25, plus two episodes M-Th the week after and final episode 30 on Fr31. https://kisskh.at/photos/0wwJo7_3
2 
4 
1 
Skimming through ep1, I just noticed a familiar face from the Forbidden Flower in ep1 of GoE8, btw: Huang Yi who played Guest role Youxi in the kitchen there, before becoming the PTSD suffering mom of He Ran in recently completed TFF. It is fun recognizing actors or actresses from other dramas after a while!
But there are plain too many dramas to choose from. I may already have watched too many!
What am I doing checking on these MDL pages for news or a laugh ??
I think drama fatigue will soon catch up with me and I will need to remove myself without screens in another corner of the galaxy, for needed rest, if I want to escape c-drama addiction and possible hemorrhoids from too much sitting binge-watching !! Wish me health !
I see that you are a Seven Tan fan. (I do also like all that I saw where she was cast, although not being inducted in her fandom group 😊). You even awarded 9.5 (like I did 😊) to The Sword and the Brocade where the age difference is comparable to TFF between Wallace Chung and Seven Tan (46 and 31 at the time, playing a 35+/16 (or so) couple then with ML character also already being father of a child).
BUT DUDE Perhaps you could use the spoiler tag more, when conversation is veering away from watched drama. Especially if you state something very negative (unless your purpose is to state a real hate and wanting to influence watchers to your negative views?). You can even add spoiler tag in "editing" previous messages to avoid such negative influencing if it was an oversight.
See, I have an unpopular opinion about one actress in one drama : I hated her in that drama, still do, and it made me very careful about mentioning it, because I ended up really hating the whole thing. Of course, I avoid from now on watching anything featuring that cold (frozen fish) actress who ruined in my opinion a possibly watchable if unremarkable and ultimately unbelievable and overlong story where ML was clearly (to me) struggling with the character he needed to embody. But I won't be so callous as to mention her name and SPOIL IT for new audience or sadden those who still love her, and in the comments I made about my dislike at the time, I always used spoiler tag.
I'm off to watch more of NVF and RR, looking forward to RH episodes tomorrow evening, 😊
"Most Chinese universities are public (almost all good universities in China is public). But they still charge The tuition fees depend on your university. Top universities mostly charge you about 800 USD to 1500 USD a year, mostly 800. Arts, software engineering, and medical sciences as majors may cost you more than 800, up to 1500. Seeing that most Chinese students choose to live on campus, you may want to add 100 USD extra for dormitory fees.
As for the less good universities including the private ones, you may have to pay up to 3000 USD a year. The dormitory fees also vary.
Those that have overseas background may also cost you much, like the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), Shanghai-New York University, etc. The tuition fees depends on the universities. CUHK SZ may cost you 15 000 USD. -- Also, there are exceptions. Many normal universities are free for future teachers. But they may have to work in distant areas in exchange.
Basically, Chinese universities still need the Chinese citizens to pay the tuition fees, only they’re often very low, compared to the US."
But the commenter did not mention that there are, like in any country, students who get scholarships (granted to university students in need, if they have excellent results in some desired areas or sports, or come from poor minority families, or are enrolled in army training. From what I understand that's how Tibetan singer alan dawa dolma enrolled in music studies in Beijing, coming from Danba valley in Sichuan which s picturesque but not affluent).
Many students from families with no or little funding for their children are money pinchers, not because they are stingy, but because they are very realistic about their needs and what money means. They may do light part time jobs, like our heroine. (Remember that Mao Zedong had a job as part time librarian while auditing some courses in Beida, back in 1918-1919? It's never been that unusual to do study and work. )
One thing to remember is anyway : not to flaunt wealth in China, except in some bling bling fashion circles. With ordinary people, it is best not to show too much the possible economic or power difference, and to be careful not to embarrass them with favors or gifts they can't equate. The drama The Story of Xing Fu showed how money and power is envisioned by some, and Xing Fu's sister's plight (about university acceptance that she was scammed out of ), also portrayed some of what it means for poorer students.
Same for me : watched all those and liked them all, so it was Tan Songyun's name in the cast which attracted me first when I checked that this was not going to be a protracted remake of the Zhang Yimou movie of same English name.
I'm an eclectic drama watcher, so I am not exclusively attached to actor/actress or genres. Watching simultaneously with RH: New Vanity Fair, and Royal Rumours which also start nicely.
Road Home gives me some similar vibes to The Forbidden Flower (which is neither scandalous or outrageous although perhaps some would like to see it so, but there are haters everywhere, and also people who dislike desperate love stories like Romeo and Juliet... While watching the Forbidden Flower, I was thinking back to excellent The Sword and The Brocade, musing about what it could have been like if Wallace Chung had been cast instead of the younger Jerry Yan. Concluding that Jerry Yan was the best actor for that role, finally).
But if you like more sedate love stories, do try Hi Venus, if you haven't watched it already.
Haven't we gotten used to that ?
However realistic it looks, in any drama, it is still not reality. At best it is playing on archetypes, since the distant mythological stories...
Also, bear in mind that Jerry Yan does not look his age, and is not playing the overbearing middle aged CEO lusting after a nymphet in that drama, so age difference is not what comes immediately to mind when you watch the first episodes without having your view tinted by other people's reports and prejudices. I try to always watch a drama without reading anything about it or even watching trailers : that's how I stumbled on this one, which to me is a real gem.
The young woman character can be irritating in her bluntness and urgency, but it is totally her free choice to pursue a more experienced and delicately considerate lover, even though not in her age or social group (she is rich but does not care for money since she is aware about her probably very short life span, so to her, love and art are her only life driving force) He is not poor, but not very affluent, likes to do handiwork and gardening as an art, almost without a care for money reward either. They both need to be loved, her more than him, but they end up head over heels while the secrets around them are randomly revealed without any fanfare but accepted as privacy. They have no time for lasting anger and even jealousy. It is a really beautiful melodrama, so you probably would suspend your bias if you like love stories, details, art, an excellent OST with carefully chosen songs, and if you like Jerry Yan.
I am not part of his fandom. I actually did not particularly like his Daoming Si in MG 2001 (preferring the Hua Ze Lei character; and I also preferred the corresponding Hanazawa Rui, Jihu, Ren or Tenma Hase in the other variations on the hana yori dango story that I all watched to get an overview of the BOF/MG phenomenon. Well, OK, I may have "second lead syndrome" since I was also rooting for Luo Yunxi's Runyu in Ashes of Love lol, ). So I only watched the other main dramas of Jerry Yan after a few episodes of TFF, but even though they are nice, I still think TFF is his best role.
Albeit I am not really into actor or actress worship, I am amused by the phenomenon of fandoms around the younger actors. This is btw one subject tackled in the currently airing New Vanity Fair drama that I also started this weekend. That one features Huang Zitao in possibly one of his best roles too.
reached 6 (with subtitles) till now on YT.
reached 10 in RAW (3-10 with no subtitles) on the cool site.
Love his songs, too : One Heart, Alone, Expose, Reluctantly, Rainbow, Cross The Line... .... and now comes a new one from the drama OST here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPS38mAn7rc (Be My Only One) and another non OST new song : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m_iWyA08nk (Love Lost)
Translations are here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO_8YtJw9u8 (Love Lost) and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIBnmECUXq4&list=PLtLby4ILL4T71-b4CEAXQ-CYfR373jXUJ&index=2 (Be My Only One)
Well, I'll be off to watch Z.Tao in New Vanity Fair over the weekend, then.
My tastes are eclectic, but I also like the Kungfu Panda, hehehe.
And Chen Feiyu from L&P, and Jerry Yan from TFF, and Wu Lei from LLTG, and Dai Gaozheng from Maid's Revenge, and Yang Yang from The King's Avatar and You Are My Glory, and Li Xian from Meet Yourself, and Wang Hedi from LBFAD, and Xu Kai from Arsenal Military Academy, and Bai Jingting from Reset, and Ren Jialun from One and Only, and Luo Yunxi from Love Is Sweet, and (list incomplete)... Ok, I will have to fill a book with nice young actors details : definitely adding Jing Boran. Focusing on my best loved dramas of post 2020.
btw I know some will say they disagree with throwing 10s to show appreciation, but that's what I already did, to be one who counter the trolls. 10 for Gui Lu from me at ep10 and unless catastrophe, I will leave it at that.
Although the trope may be traced further back, perhaps even to non fantasy Meteor Garden and dramas inspired by the rather violent love and bullying there (which was the one where the FL got her nose smashed by a basketball and ML or SML helpfully came to rescue with a handkerchief while she was washing the blood away ? That was substitute "arousal nosebleed" too, of course.)
But don't go there if you have a strong bias and prejudice against age difference, against Jerry Yan, who is a fine actor there, or against dramas with open or sad ending. Personally, I loved that drama and its haunting OST songs.
I only watched JY dramas after TFF except Meteor Garden 2001-2002 which I watched long time ago and rewatched (together with the J, SK, PRC and Thai variations and spinoffs, to appreciate the "phenomenon") in early 2023. I now believe JY's role in TFF was his best one: nobody could have played "Xiao Han" better. Not even Wallace Chung.
For those who like beautiful places, art, colors, steamy melodrama, that one is a must!
2 episodes a day until Thursday, one on Friday and on Saturday and next 2 episodes M-Th and final on Friday.
Having traveled the roads to Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and in Gansu + Xinjiang (Turpan-Ürümqi highway, and Kashgar-Karakpram highway, Altay-Kanas lake...) I can say that it is totally impossible to drive overnight (furthermore with one driver only) from Beijing to northwest Xinjiang. With a flight from Beijing to Dunhuang and catching in a remote station a train to Turpan, next driving the Turpan Ürümqi highway, and flying Ürümqi to Kashgar, it was a 6 days journey (with one day spent at destinations to explore interesting archeological and other interesting places, so "chabuduo" 2 days with flying and bus stretches + 1 night travel in sleeper train. Of course, there are bullet trains? No, there is no bullet train connecting the Beijing and Ürümqi yet ; the two overnight trains Z69, Z179 depart from Beijing West Railway Station and arrive at Urumqi Railway station and the duration is about 31 to 38 hours. Despite the possible Lanzhou-Ürumqi bullet train stretch, it does not reduce the duration much bc of interchange. Flight from BJ is the more reasonable option.)
The novel put the border city where LYC was stationed at Erenhot, which is much closer to Beijing, but in winter, and with the rather low speed limits on even the most modern highways, it would take quite longer than an overnight journey. BJ Erenhot is quite a drive. 663 km / 412 miles, 7+ hrs drive estimate without pause (but one at least is needed),
But BJ -Kanas or Hemu (as in the drama, if Qining was Altay/Hemu) is a different proposition : China is a very big country and roads are not all on flat terrain, too...
Beijing to Kanas Lake by car is about 3500 km / 2145 miles and the estimated 39 hrs journey is only an estimation. Professional drivers are not allowed to drive more than 10-15 hours a day. So: that journey would be 3 days minimum with minimum 6 sizable stops.
Lu YanChen may be an experienced driver who does not fear doing "truckers duty" driving long hours as sole driver, in all kinds of weather, including black ice and heavy snow, but I doubt he'd have taken the risk of hauling GX on such a harrowing and long journey!
Besides, speed limits are not high : Speed limits on national highways are 80 Km/h (50 Mp/h), or 40 Km/h (25 Mp/h where the highway is single lane). The G100 series indicates national highways radiating from Beijing, the G200 numbers are highways that run east to west, and the G300 series from north to south. -- On motorways, usually toll express ways , speed limits are generally 120 Km/h (75 Mp/h) on city-to-city routes, while on express routes within cities the limit is 100 Km/h (62 Mp/h).
Friends who flew in 2019 from Chengdu to Altay drove from there to Kanas Lake in a 5+ hrs journey: they would not have attempted the complete 39hrs car driving time non stop from end to end. (about same distance as between BJ and Kanas Lake, but different terrain).
I like to nitpick, lol! Nonetheless, I vastly enjoyed ep11!!
In the days of the one child policy (1973-2013); there used to be hefty fines for lawbreakers who exceeded the number of children allowed But keep in mind that the one-child policy applied to Han, mostly in cities, and did not apply to most minority people: Uighur and Tibetan could have as many kids as they would, (I am not even talking about Ewenki nomads or Hezhe people in Heilongjiang who are so tiny groups that they are almost considered endangered species, so of course no limit applied then and now to their families), Besides, policy did not apply to twin or multiple births, and there were allowances for 2 children if first child was a girl in the countryside, or handicapped, or parent(s) was/were from one child family, or were divorced and remarried to someone with no child, or one parent was minority. There were also local exemptions, such as Han Chinese in southern Xinjiang were allowed to have two children since 2012. And also allowance if second child was birthed 7 years or more after first (some Han friends used this to have a second son in BJ in the early 2000s They would ideally have preferred a daughter, but could not choose since it was forbidden to reveal sex before birth; besides, they were happy enough having a second child anyway.).
"Anyway the policy was changed to the 2/3 child policy in 2016 and the 3 child limit in 2021.
Currently the 3 child policy is still in effect but in late 2021 all the fines and penalties were removed. That doesn’t mean that the policy doesn’t still exist what has happened is that China is now trying to encourage births and it looks like a lot of these incentives will only apply to the first 3 children but … time will tell if that changes as well."
Many young couples in the PRC, esp those raised in cities and so pampered in youth that they are ingrained selfish, are reluctant to have even one child now, because of cost to raise it and inconvenience!! Like in Japan, birth rate has dropped to almost alarming level, so making trouble for those who do have a child and the means to raise it properly is undesirable, and the PRC always having had a pragmatic approach to debatable regulations, there is imo zero chance that an affluent single mom be harassed by authorities.
https://kisskh.at/photos/0wwJo7_3
And I agree.