Xin Shang Hai Tan（新上海滩）[Huang Xiaoming；Sun Li]

[Ghaleon]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/16/xin_272070416093025014964.jpg')

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_6381007.htm

"New Shanghai Bund" too smoky

BEIJING, July 16 -- Several Chinese anti-smoking activists are accusing a domestic TV drama of having too much smoking scenes, and are petitioning the TV and film supervision watchdog to issue a rating of such displays.

Members of the Beijing-based non-profit organization, ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development, on Saturday signed a petition to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), the Beijing News said on Sunday.

The letter says the director of "New Shanghai Bund" has made almost every character an addicted smoker and that cigarettes are "probably the most used prop" in the whole production.

The 42-episode drama is the latest remake of a 1980 classic which turned Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat into a star. It revolves around a group of gangland mobsters in 1930s Shanghai.

The remake reported high audience ratings when it was aired on Beijing TV back in May, and was voted as the most popular TV series in an earlier survey on popular web portal Sina.com.

ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development, mainly consisting of medical experts, worries that frequent smoking scenes in such a highly-popular TV production could mislead young audience, and suggests a rating should be introduced to reduce minors' exposure to on-screen smoking.

The petition letter will be presented to the SARFT soon, a senior member of the organization was quoted as saying.

In fact, an anti-smoking voice has been heard since "New Shanghai Bund" debuted on the small screen.

Its director, Gao Xixi, was quoted by previous reports as arguing that he thought he had done nothing wrong, because there is no ban or limit on smoking scenes in TV or film.

[Ken Cheng]

This problem would not have even come up for consideration back in 1980.

Different times.

[Ghaleon]

This problem would not have even come up for consideration back in 1980.

Different times.

All I can say is watching both series makes me wanna smoke

[ChineseChik525]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/16/xin_272070416093025014964.jpg')

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_6381007.htm

"New Shanghai Bund" too smoky

BEIJING, July 16 -- Several Chinese anti-smoking activists are accusing a domestic TV drama of having too much smoking scenes, and are petitioning the TV and film supervision watchdog to issue a rating of such displays.

Members of the Beijing-based non-profit organization, ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development, on Saturday signed a petition to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), the Beijing News said on Sunday.

The letter says the director of "New Shanghai Bund" has made almost every character an addicted smoker and that cigarettes are "probably the most used prop" in the whole production.

The 42-episode drama is the latest remake of a 1980 classic which turned Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat into a star. It revolves around a group of gangland mobsters in 1930s Shanghai.

The remake reported high audience ratings when it was aired on Beijing TV back in May, and was voted as the most popular TV series in an earlier survey on popular web portal Sina.com.

ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development, mainly consisting of medical experts, worries that frequent smoking scenes in such a highly-popular TV production could mislead young audience, and suggests a rating should be introduced to reduce minors' exposure to on-screen smoking.

The petition letter will be presented to the SARFT soon, a senior member of the organization was quoted as saying.

In fact, an anti-smoking voice has been heard since "New Shanghai Bund" debuted on the small screen.

Its director, Gao Xixi, was quoted by previous reports as arguing that he thought he had done nothing wrong, because there is no ban or limit on smoking scenes in TV or film.

nice picture used

[xiaolong]

Sorry for bumping up a thread on a series that was from ages ago ... I guess I'm among the minority who actually loved Xin Shang Hai Tan to the old classic TVB version. I'm probably the only one rooting for Xu Wen Qiang and Fang Yan Yun to be together. Somehow, I thought HXM's chemistry with Chen Shu (Fang Yan Yun) was soooo much better than with Sun Li (Cheng Cheng - whom I found annoying) that I've been constructing alternative fanfics and MVs of Wen Qiang and Yan Yun. I just feel that throughout this series, the woman Wen Qiang truly loves is Fang Yan Yun. I can just feel so much love between them, but it's a very sad kind of love as they had accepted that they won't be together. It breaks my heart seeing their scenes together, but also touches me a lot.

this is one instance where an onscreen couple doesn't have to even touch or have lovey-dovey scenes for me to feel they love each other deeply.

I only wished that Fang Yan Yun snapped out of her inertia earlier and moved away from Shanghai with Wen Qing to start life anew. I would have liked that they showed more scenes of Wen Qiang and Yan Yun as university students in Beiping, how their relationship blossomed, how they separated tragically.

Wen Qiang may have rescued Cheng Cheng from danger several times, but I didn't feel convinced by development of any feelings for her on his part. It's like, ok, she's the love interest in the story, so let's just have them as a couple - totally unconvincing and staged.

But with Fang Yan Yun...WOW! He loves this woman deeply! E.g. at the casino, Wen Qiang and Cheng Cheng were seated together. But when Wen Qiang sighted an obnoxious guy at the roulette table trying to take advantage of Fang Yan Yun and make snide remarks of her status (as a high class prostitute and mistress of Mr Feng), I loved the way he got away from Cheng Cheng, went to the roulette table and roughly pinned the offender down. I can't be bothered about whether Cheng Cheng felt hurt about it - just want her to scram off and let Wen Qiang be with Fang Yan Yun. And I hate Cheng Cheng for looking down on Fang Yan Yun. HATE!

And it totally broke my heart when Fang Yan Yun was attacked by Jiu Shu. Obviously a lot of people (including Jiu Shu) had the sense that Wen Qiang loved Fang Yan Yun deeply, hence he chose to viciously attack her (rather than Cheng Cheng) to take revenge against Wen Qiang in a way that will hurt him the most. It also broke me to see Wen Qiang's reaction, as seeing Fang Yan Yun attacked like that must have pierced his heart terribly. This is when I couldn't stand Cheng Cheng the most...acting like a spoilt brat and kicking up a fuss about Wen Qiang seeing Fang Yan Yun. Go away stupid Cheng Cheng!

As Mr Feng says, "A man who kills for his brother, that's expected. But for a man to kill for a woman. This woman and him..." It's LOVE!!!

[bachtuyet]

I wish they kept the wedding in the original, it my favorite scenes & ending of this seem answer, like the producer are plan sequel to it somehow.

[dawnfrench82]

As a reply to xiaolong

Actually I very much disagree.
I'm not saying Wen Qiang and Yan Yun didn't love each other. But I don't think it was a healthy love. Look at the pattern they fell into upon coming back into each other's lives. For better or for worse, Fang Yan Yun came, saw and conquered Shanghai Bund. She was at the top, whatever it took to get there. Enter Wen Qiang and suddenly she's gone all to pieces and become the damsel in distress and he comes to the rescue just when he should be taking time to sort out his own pain at having been in...oh I don't know, prison for the last five years. PTSD anyone? He's a classic case; flashbacks, blunted emotions. It makes me think their college relationship was characterized by a similar pattern with him enabling her helplessness and her enabling his chronic rescuing tendencies. Seriously, throughout the series, Wen Qiang can't pick a battle to (literally) save his life.

I think the Cheng Cheng character should have been handled a lot differently. I
found her annoying too but mostly because I saw tiny little glimmers of what she could be but they never did anything with it. After their brief fight in his office (when she gives him the tie) when they make up she says something along the lines of 'let me in, tell me what's troubling you.' I marked it as the nearest anyone had ever come to saying to Wen Qiang, "let me help you."
That's what Cheng Cheng should have been as a character. A line from the musical Zanna Don't! leaps to mind. "You've always taken care of everyone else. That's always how it's been. Well it's time someone took care of you. But you have to let them in."

After they get all the kidnappings out of the way, that's the dynamic they should have set up more. I saw it beginning to emerge later in the series. Even as Wen Qiang continues to rescue Yan Yun, he does seem to want to turn to Cheng Cheng for solace but he seems ambivalent at the prospect. He's more comfortable with being needed than needing someone, happy to deal with other's vulnerability while not wanting to face his own.

Of course Cheng Cheng would be jealous of the time he spends with Yan Yun. They play that aspect up way too much in the writing but I saw something else, mostly because Sun Li is a good actress and a subtext did come out. I think she was also hurting because she could see he was hurting and not letting her in. That would make me angry.

But she's stuck in this mire of spoiled little girl with maddening tidbits of caring woman sprinkled sporadically. I think it would have been interesting if she'd been able to get to Wen Qiang and help look after him while he was (spoiler alert) wounded and in hiding. I've actually been working on a fan fic to that effect.

As for Mr. Feng's remark, he also said that a woman who kills is no longer a woman. Put it this way, he's not the one I'd turn to for advice on gender relations. Killing utterly destroys a woman but makes men better? That's creepy and sexist going both ways.

Also, Jui Shu may have been a brute but he wasn't completely stupid. All right he wanted to get to Wen Qiang but wouldn't have risked a direct assault on Mr. Feng's daughter. That's a little too hazardous to your health in Shanghai Bund.

Anyway that's my take on why Wen Qiang and Cheng Cheng should have ended up together if they'd just played up Cheng Cheng's potential intelligence and compassion and not emphasized her childish jealousy.

[dawnfrench82]

agreed!!! i thought the same as you

lots of bloods but after that it's like nothing happened. And also not showed on their expression. Only when XWQ got very badly injured and Chang Kui (?) helped him during that period we can see the effects of lots injuries he had before.

Ok, just finished it last nite but sadly i used lots of "fast forwarding' and as per my opinion, the story is slow n draggy, couldn't see the chemistry too. Sorry i couldnt say it's a good series. I almost stopped watching in the middle, if not of my curiosuity to see the ending i won't finished it

I know! I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the disappearing injury thing. And it's not even necessary. Would anyone have objected to another scene or two of a vulnerable, bed-ridden Xu Wen Qiang? I wouldn't. By all means, keep the violence. Just be realistic about it.
Plus some scenes like that might have made a beginning for the basis of some chemistry for the two leads and would have allowed the actors to show that Cheng Cheng "cares for him so much" rather than just have it exist as free-floating dialouge.

[mango_cake]

I've been wanting to watch this series for a long time--I put it off for 2 reasons, 1) because I loved the old version so much I'm afraid the new one will disappoint me, and 2) after watching ROCH I couldn't stand to watch HXM in anything up till now (a pity because I used to love him). It's promising that you guys seem to really like the series! However I'm sad to hear that XWQ/Cheng Cheng do not have really good chemistry, because I loved them together in the old SHT! I mean, who is Fang Yan Yun...I don't even remember this character? (Although I watched the old SHT a really long time ago so my memory is pretty hazy.)

[xiaolong]

Oh, this version is definitely a must-watch. It's done quite differently from the original, with more emphasis on certain minor characters. But unlike LOCH08 which attempted to be different but ended up butchering the original in a bad way, this Xin Shanghai Tang version actually has an excellent script and plot.

[Ken Cheng]

I've been wanting to watch this series for a long time--I put it off for 2 reasons, 1) because I loved the old version so much I'm afraid the new one will disappoint me, and 2) after watching ROCH I couldn't stand to watch HXM in anything up till now (a pity because I used to love him). It's promising that you guys seem to really like the series! However I'm sad to hear that XWQ/Cheng Cheng do not have really good chemistry, because I loved them together in the old SHT! I mean, who is Fang Yan Yun...I don't even remember this character? (Although I watched the old SHT a really long time ago so my memory is pretty hazy.)

Fong Yim Wan was an old friend of Hui Mun Keung's from the days when they were university students together in Beijing. In the original, 1980 TVB BUND, she was portrayed by Meg Lam Kin Ming.

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www.zygifts.com/cdlight/tv/sht/pic/fyy.JPG')

Her role in the original BUND was smaller. Although she did have a romantic interest in Hui Mun Keung, he regarded her only as a good friend.