To shed some light on the mysterious B&W "old movie" intro, here is a snippet from the first part of the novel :
"....Are you looking for someone?” “You’ve noticed already,” Xiao Boluo said. “That’s why I asked you to stay. My brother.” “Fedel?” “Yes. Fedel. Fedel Dimak.” “In China?”
“I don’t know if he’s still alive. If he is, he should be living along the Grand Canal. He’s the true expert on the canal. He loves canals, he enjoys water, and he cherishes every place with water. Fedel has always loved Venice since he was young. When he learned about the Grand Canal in China, he was determined to come here. In his letters home, he said that the greatness of the Grand Canal is something you can never imagine in Venice. He’s the one meant to be today’s Marco Polo.”
“Not sure if he’s still alive? What does that mean?” “He came to China through military service. Last year, you know, the Boxers, the Qing government, they clashed, and there has been no news since then.” “Sorry to hear that.” “War, no one can escape it.”
[..........]
Tears welled up in Xiao Boluo’s eyes, yet his expression was one of a smile. The grim reaper, cloaked in black, was inching towards his forehead. With his final strength, Xiao Boluo grasped Xie Pingyao’s hand and said, “Brother.”
............. On a nearby official boat, people were discussing canal transportation.
One of them said, “This might be the last trip.” Another asked, “Is it going to be abolished?” “The news came from the palace.”
In the year 1901, in the reign of Emperor Guangxu, on the second day of the seventh month, equivalent to August 15th in the Gregorian calendar, the edict to abolish canal transportation was issued.
In the year 1901, in the reign of Emperor Guangxu, on the twentieth day of the sixth month, equivalent to August 4th in the Gregorian calendar, the Italian Paolo Dimak died on a boat on the Tongzhou Canal." [up in the northern, Beiping/Beijing end of the Grand Canal]
They painted Bai Lu with something but I don't know about the rest of the cast
In that period, the grown girls and women often wore large hats, even vendors of ice creams on the streets of Shanghai did, when they carried those ice creams kept cool in an aluminum foil lined wrapped in a towel basket (I was a little dubious, but those ice creams were actually good, and I never got sick consuming them, or having other street food there, or sugar cane juice freshly squeezed at the wet market.) Some, on bicycles, wore strange umbrella-like hats strapped to head (I suppose also useful in rain, although if it poured down they would don large waterproof capes in light colors) : I was amazed by those, spotted in Shanghai, Suzhou, Changzhou in the early and mid 1990s, when I was a frequent visitor (family there). But it was a fad: I did not see them in the 2000s any longer. Instead, women and even men used sunscreen as a daily skin care from the mid 2000s. Or sensible sunhats. The need for a hat became less important as covered cars became more popular. Women also often used umbrellas. I had a foreigner friend who scoffed at the silliness of using umbrellas, but the women of China were already aware of the risk of skin cancer for those who let themselves be tanned too much. We also looked for shade and space and would not stay 故意 in the sun like "mad dogs and Englishmen". (Always amused by that song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tJjwBWBbX4)
The kids sure did not bother. They liked to bathe in the heat of summer, and do all sorts of shenanigans. Just not jump in the canal: the water was very polluted, at least around where I was. There were swimming pools, also open air ones, which were better. But we did not leave the children out in the midday sun either lol
The snippet of B&W footage of "old movie" in Italian was meant to introduce Ma Siyi, the young Eurasian girl who…
Maths don't add up. A person shown as adult in 1901 must be born latest in the 1880s and I strongly doubt the Granny Ma is older than 60 in 2000. Meaning born around 1940 and adult around 1960. retirement age in China for women was 55 years old. There certainly was an Italian family which fled to China, probably in the late 1930s or in the 1940s, and "insulted the Japanese" if I remember the dialogue. Perhaps defectors from the fascist regime of Mussolini or people engaged in some profession like trade, diplomacy, journalism, we don't know what, which led them to Asia. They apparently settled in Shandong (I'd have thought it would be more likely Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beiping or even Dalian, Tianjin, Harbin, which had foreign communities living there at the time, but ok, there was also the former German port of Qingdao, Shandong.) That's where Ma Siyi was born. Her dad was terminally ill and her mother remarried with a bully and perhaps pedophile, so she sent her daughter Siyi away to her former mother in law, for the child's protection. What connection Siyi's dad had to the Italian ancestors is unclear. Was he an Italian adoptive son of granny Ma? Or the grandson of the Italian couple or Italian forefather? We have no clear idea yet.
They painted Bai Lu with something but I don't know about the rest of the cast
In Discussions, there is a mention that production thought Bai Lu was "too pretty", so they had her cut her hair, wear dental braces, be tanned... And Bai Lu, good sport, submitted to all that to "fit the role". I think the rest of the cast escaped the torture.
Not many watches these type of dramas, even some hardcore fans also avoids them bcz it will not have Romance like…
Sure, but one flavor of tea is not my preferred taste. I had my fill of love and kisses with Rainkissed Fate, so was looking forward to watch something different. Why not a more serious proposition bringing me back to familiar haunts in the Jiangnan. I am also having loads of fun with Filter.
The snippet of B&W footage of "old movie" in Italian was meant to introduce Ma Siyi, the young Eurasian girl who…
It is unlikely that the character in 1901 could be the son of granny Ma... I thought it was an ancestor foreigner who married into her family some when before like the grandma told Ma Siyi. By the start of this drama, the son of granny Ma is dead, if I'm not mistaken? Did you read the book?
Good for me. It's slice of life and even of History seen through the eyes of a few young people who are growing up with dreams of making money, gaining fame, staying friends and supporting each other in need.
Watched only the first episode but it's so good omg i'm happy to watch BaiLu in this genre😭🤩, the introduction…
The snippet of B&W footage of "old movie" in Italian was meant to introduce Ma Siyi, the young Eurasian girl who suddenly appeared among the kids in the Flower Street neighborhood, to be raised by her grandma. It was intriguing, yes.
I just watched the first two episodes and I love how the kids feel like real kids (perfect casting for the children).…
But kids did not have pocket money then, so they might indeed like in many countries in those more "free roaming" years (when parents were not afraid to let them run as free as young chicken) go poaching fruit on trees or on the barges. It was quite realistic, and at the same time, delightfully colorful with those round green ball like watermelons bobbing up in the water when they fell and the kids throwing them in an inflatable swimming ring. Life along the canal looked colorful also with the kids flying colored kites shaped like big red and gold fish! The "camcorder" moments recording the elders enjoying Chinese chess, or running after the kids to spank them, or comfort them, and the kids swimming in the canal were so well filmed! This drama is very endearing in the first views of "charmed life" along the Grand Canal in Wuxi.
this is gonna be my first in this genre ....can anyone please tell how's it ?
It's particularly interesting for those who can compare with actual memories of living and working in the area in the 1990s-2000s. Like me... There are many things that ring true although the views are slightly idealized (air and water and places are not as gritty as they really were). The problems of the waterways vs the highways started earlier ; by 2007 they were really in a slump and pollution had become an acute problem. The need for regulations and environmental protection grew more acute, while the young generation indeed looked for ways to make money by all means. The group of friends portrayed in episode 3 and 4 in high school are well introduced and the ensemble cast is led by very good actors and actresses.
Watched the 4 episodes and I like the fast pace, precise views of Grand Canal and Wuxi life back in the early 2000s, before highways transformed the coastal provinces. Bai Lu as a growing girl soon in university would have the right dialect since she grew up in nearby Changzhou, also on the Grand Canal. The rest of the ensemble cast are impressive and experienced. The kid versions were adorable, conveying the sense of charmed life that children enjoyed at the time, under the care of doting families and close friends neighbors. It is an excellent slice of life story and I am looking forward to watch it onward.
Watching. But need a pause for fuel /food/ fluids, and get a new laptop brought in through DHL with some trepidation because sender seems to have entered only part of address, so will be back in an hour when things are in order. 4 episodes on iQiyi, starting with footage from a B&W old movie ?
2 
5 
1 
2 
1 
"....Are you looking for someone?”
“You’ve noticed already,” Xiao Boluo said. “That’s why I asked you to stay. My brother.”
“Fedel?”
“Yes. Fedel. Fedel Dimak.”
“In China?”
“I don’t know if he’s still alive. If he is, he should be living along the Grand Canal. He’s the true expert on the canal. He loves canals, he enjoys water, and he cherishes every place with water. Fedel has always loved Venice since he was young. When he learned about the Grand Canal in China, he was determined to come here. In his letters home, he said that the greatness of the Grand Canal is something you can never imagine in Venice. He’s the one meant to be today’s Marco Polo.”
“Not sure if he’s still alive? What does that mean?”
“He came to China through military service. Last year, you know, the Boxers, the Qing government, they clashed, and there has been no news since then.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“War, no one can escape it.”
[..........]
Tears welled up in Xiao Boluo’s eyes, yet his expression was one of a smile. The grim reaper, cloaked in black, was inching towards his forehead. With his final strength, Xiao Boluo grasped Xie Pingyao’s hand and said, “Brother.”
............. On a nearby official boat, people were discussing canal transportation.
One of them said, “This might be the last trip.”
Another asked, “Is it going to be abolished?”
“The news came from the palace.”
In the year 1901, in the reign of Emperor Guangxu, on the second day of the seventh month, equivalent to August 15th in the Gregorian calendar, the edict to abolish canal transportation was issued.
In the year 1901, in the reign of Emperor Guangxu, on the twentieth day of the sixth month, equivalent to August 4th in the Gregorian calendar, the Italian Paolo Dimak died on a boat on the Tongzhou Canal." [up in the northern, Beiping/Beijing end of the Grand Canal]
Some, on bicycles, wore strange umbrella-like hats strapped to head (I suppose also useful in rain, although if it poured down they would don large waterproof capes in light colors) : I was amazed by those, spotted in Shanghai, Suzhou, Changzhou in the early and mid 1990s, when I was a frequent visitor (family there). But it was a fad: I did not see them in the 2000s any longer. Instead, women and even men used sunscreen as a daily skin care from the mid 2000s. Or sensible sunhats.
The need for a hat became less important as covered cars became more popular.
Women also often used umbrellas. I had a foreigner friend who scoffed at the silliness of using umbrellas, but the women of China were already aware of the risk of skin cancer for those who let themselves be tanned too much.
We also looked for shade and space and would not stay 故意 in the sun like "mad dogs and Englishmen". (Always amused by that song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tJjwBWBbX4)
The kids sure did not bother. They liked to bathe in the heat of summer, and do all sorts of shenanigans. Just not jump in the canal: the water was very polluted, at least around where I was. There were swimming pools, also open air ones, which were better. But we did not leave the children out in the midday sun either lol
https://kisskh.at/discussions/740015-bei-shang/136908-mini-profile-of-vanda-margraf-emerging-star-actress
There certainly was an Italian family which fled to China, probably in the late 1930s or in the 1940s, and "insulted the Japanese" if I remember the dialogue. Perhaps defectors from the fascist regime of Mussolini or people engaged in some profession like trade, diplomacy, journalism, we don't know what, which led them to Asia. They apparently settled in Shandong (I'd have thought it would be more likely Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beiping or even Dalian, Tianjin, Harbin, which had foreign communities living there at the time, but ok, there was also the former German port of Qingdao, Shandong.)
That's where Ma Siyi was born.
Her dad was terminally ill and her mother remarried with a bully and perhaps pedophile, so she sent her daughter Siyi away to her former mother in law, for the child's protection.
What connection Siyi's dad had to the Italian ancestors is unclear. Was he an Italian adoptive son of granny Ma? Or the grandson of the Italian couple or Italian forefather? We have no clear idea yet.
I had my fill of love and kisses with Rainkissed Fate, so was looking forward to watch something different. Why not a more serious proposition bringing me back to familiar haunts in the Jiangnan.
I am also having loads of fun with Filter.
Did you read the book?
This drama is very endearing in the first views of "charmed life" along the Grand Canal in Wuxi.
The group of friends portrayed in episode 3 and 4 in high school are well introduced and the ensemble cast is led by very good actors and actresses.
Watched the 4 episodes and I like the fast pace, precise views of Grand Canal and Wuxi life back in the early 2000s, before highways transformed the coastal provinces.
Bai Lu as a growing girl soon in university would have the right dialect since she grew up in nearby Changzhou, also on the Grand Canal. The rest of the ensemble cast are impressive and experienced. The kid versions were adorable, conveying the sense of charmed life that children enjoyed at the time, under the care of doting families and close friends neighbors.
It is an excellent slice of life story and I am looking forward to watch it onward.
4 episodes on iQiyi, starting with footage from a B&W old movie ?