[News] Audiences In Fo Shan (Guangzhou) Enjoys River of Wine, a Heartening Drama

Plot

[River of Wine] is a drama that uses the theme of wine to talk about human relations, about conflicts between characters brought about by the topic of wine. This drama depicts two family in Jiu Jiang (a town in Guangzhou) by the name of Leung and Sung and their conflicts nearing the end of the Qing Dynasty. The wine factories in Jiu Jiang manufactured wine for TVB for the production of [River of Wine] for a period of 3 years, and the total budget spent into the production exceeded 10 million Hong Kong Dollars.

The story is set in Jiu Jiang, a town that promotes 12 prosperous tanneries nearing the end of the Qing Dynasty. The 3 brothers in the drama (acted by Bowie Lam, Sunny Chan, and Pierre Ngo) became enemies due to their family’s wine businesses, and thereafter went into fierce competition for their career and also for love. However, eventually, the three brothers reunited together due to wine, and laughed away their hatred for each other. This drama ends with a happy reunion.

In this typical TVB drama, besides being filled with conflicts between families, it is also filled with relationship ties. Each of the 3 brothers in the drama have their own relationships each. Mayi Kong acts as the 3rd mum of the family, thus Bowie Lam, as her step-son, has to address her as step-mum. Later on, both of them fell in love, which was deeply shunned by their family. Sunny Chan’s and Linda Chung’s characters eventually developed into couples in the drama, and it is revealed that they will have juicy scenes in this drama. Sire Ma and Pierre Ngo will act as a couple that undergoes a lot of ups and downs in their relationship.

In a comment on weibo posted by netizen “fcbu”, he mentions that River of Wine did not intentionally talk about the setting of the drama, but instead concentrated all the changes of time and place into the lands of Jiu Jiang. The entire drama converges the style of TVB with the specialties of Jiu Jiang, providing a heartening effect which causes audiences to be addicted.

A resident of Fo Shan, Wu Shu, is currently following the drama. Wu tells the reporters, that it can be seen that the scriptwriters did put in a lot of effort in producing the script. The Fo Shan culture that the drama shows (Jiu Jiang is a town in Fo Shan) is able to relate to the audiences very well. The various items featured in the drama, as well as the accent of the Jiu Jiang people, are day to day representations of the Jiu Jiang culture.

Setting

Double Steam of Jiu Jiang sets foot in TVB

The double steam wine making technique used in the production of Jiu Jiang rice wine originated during the Qing dynasty, and till date has a history of about 200 years. Since the passing of two centuries, the hard work and wisdom of the ancestors of Jiu Jiang has led the double steam technique to become a unique wine making technique and an icon of the Jiu Jiang region. “We constantly want to film a drama about wine making. In the past, TVB has filmed [Country Spirit] with a similar theme related to wine, but that drama addresses the specific methodologies in wine making. This time round, Jiu Jiang happens to be a famous wine town, and both parties are happy to collaborate,” producer Wong Wai Sing mentioned.

The general manager of the Jiu Jiang wine factory said that the expenditure used in the filming of [River of Wine] was massive, with the intention of raising the influence and strengthening the brand name of the Jiu Jiang double steam technique. And by investing in the TV drama, that is just one way the Jiu Jiang wine factory attempts to “upgrade products through culture”.

Apparently, the male lead Sunny Chan will be appointed as the ambassador of the Jiu Jiang double steamed wine. Insiders revealed that the Jiu Jiang factory chose to film a drama to promote the culture of the wine industry as it is a more efficient promotion method, the general manager Mr. Kwan said that “Investing in filming a drama is a good advertisement, as this form of “soft-selling” is more accepted by the audience and public”.

Aspects of Jiu Jiang such as food and warmth of the people are depicted fully in the drama. “We hope to use a more direct method to let the mass consumers and citizens know about the history of wine. A TV drama no doubt is the best method to express this. And TVB is a favourite among audiences, thus this is a win-win deal”, Mr Kwan added.

Credits to: [Zhu Jiang Times]
Translated by Joshick @ LindaCottage

Thoughts: It's good to hear praises for River of Wine even though the ratings aren't doing as great. I am personally really liking the series right now. It is really nice to see tvb filming the rives and lakes scenes....beautiful scenery :)