Winter Begonia (2020)

Original title

鬓边不是海棠红

Directed by

Hui Kai Dong, Wang Cheng Xin

Cast

Huang Xiao Ming, Liu Ruo Gu, Yin Zheng, Jiang Rui Lin, Charmaine Sheh, Su Bai Li, Lu Chen Yue, Liu Min

Genre

drama, war & politics

Country

People's Republic of China

Length

1 season, 49 episodes

Rated

15

Rating

8.9 of 10 from 10 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A shrewd businessman becomes close friends with a Peking opera genius in the years before World War II. Their bond forms against a backdrop of tradition and looming conflict.

slow-burnmelancholicvisually lushintimatenostalgicbittersweettendergrounded

What happens

Winter Begonia (Chinese: 鬓边不是海棠红; pinyin: Bìn Biān Bùshì Hǎitánghóng) is a 2020 Chinese television series starring Huang Xiaoming, Yin Zheng, and Charmaine Sheh, based on Shui Ru Tian Er's BL web novel of the same name. It aired exclusively on iQiyi and tells the story of the close relationship between a shrewd businessman and a Peking opera genius right before the World War II. While the original web novel depicted the relationship between the two main men as romantic, the adaptation changed this depiction into a "bromance". The show has been praised for its story, visuals and tasteful promotion of Chinese traditional culture, particularly Peking opera. iQiyi released a talk show named Wang Peiyu Peking Opera Show alongside the drama, which features Peking opera performer Wang Peiyu as she elaborates about operatic repertoire/traditions found in Winter Begonia and in real life. The series began airing on August 7 on Beijing TV at 19:30 CST. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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