Blossoms Shanghai and Huanghe Road Become a Hit丨跟着《繁花》打卡上海黄河路

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The long-awaited TV series Blossoms Shanghai has been released in two versions — Mandarin and the Shanghai dialect — on Dec 27, quickly soaring as one of the most popular dramas during the New Year's period.

Adapted from writer Jin Yucheng's award-winning novel, Fan Hua (Blossoms Shanghai), the series takes audience back to Shanghai in the early 1990s, following the rise of A Bao, an ambitious young man who seizes the opportunities of the early stock market and transforms into a self-made millionaire, expanding his business to foreign trade.

Tang Yan, who plays Miss Wang in the drama focused on the TV project for around three years.

"The role's passion, courage, independence and a never-yielding spirit resonated with me," Tang said.

Wu Yue, who plays Miss Wang's mentor, said she felt so fortunate to be an actress particularly after cooperating with such a talented director. It enabled her to experience a different life.

Since it debuted on December 27 on China Central Television's Channel 8 and Tencent Video, the 30-episode drama has become one of the highest-rating homegrown series in recent years and an Internet sensation.

Many viewers spoke highly of the drama for its heartwarming and in-depth portrayal of the city, its people and the vicissitudes in the 1990s.

"In an era of many opportunities, director Wong stunned me with a touching depiction of the deep emotional connections between people," said netizen Bixin on Douban.

On Chinese social media platform Weibo, the series with both Mandarin and Shanghai dialect versions has aroused lots of trending topics related to its plot, acting, the city's food, dialect, architecture and time-honoured roads.

The Past and Present of Huanghe Road

Formerly known as a gastronomy paradise, Shanghai's Huanghe Road used to be home to over 100 restaurants, many of which served high-end fare that only the rich and famous could afford.

But everything started to change in the mid-1990s when a spate of changes sapped the lustre out of this bustling street.

For safety considerations, the iconic neon signs that gave the street much of its character were torn from the buildings. The Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, the SARS pandemic in 2003, and the rise of other gourmet streets in the city subsequently resulted in many restaurants here closing down.

A security guard surnamed Zhang who works at an office building along the road tells China Daily that the area has been overflowing with visitors since the launch of the new show.

“Just look at the nearby Park Hotel. People have been queuing up as early as 6 am to buy its famous palmier even though the pastry shop only opens at 8 am. There are also many more young people visiting these days,” said Zhang.

Visitor numbers to the Fairmont Peace Hotel near the Bund, another landmark depicted in the TV series, has also been rising, as evidenced by the deluge of photos posted by Chinese social media users.

To take advantage of the fanfare surrounding the road, Fairmont Peace Hotel offers a set menu for two featuring representative Shanghai-style dishes mentioned in the drama, costing 1,460 yuan ($204).

Online food delivery services have also reported that takeaway orders for food featured in the TV drama have been soaring. For example, online takeaway orders of rice soup, a typical Shanghai homemade dish that involves soaking leftover rice in a seafood broth, spiked.

Other Shanghai classics like pork chops and rice cakes, have also been massively popular, with food delivery orders for them soaring 200 percent on Meituan.

“Restaurants here were the pioneers in introducing Hong Kong cuisine to the city. Many top chefs from Hong Kong used to work in the restaurants here,” recalls Wang Yongfen, a resident on Huanghe Road for 35 years.

“Hong Kong dishes quickly became popular as pop songs and movies from Hong Kong were highly sought after here in the 1990s. It was common to see photos of restaurant owners posing with famous movie stars and singers from Hong Kong.”

“Business people believed that larger and louder firecrackers would bring greater fortunes in the new year. On the eve of the Spring Festival, restaurant managers would set off boxes of firecrackers larger than TV sets in the middle of the street. The deafening sounds of the firecrackers going off could be heard till sunrise,” recalls a woman surnamed Huang, who was once a resident on Huanghe Road in the early 1990s. For Huang, "Blossoms Shanghai" not only showcases her hometown food, but also awakens many of her childhood memories.

Huang said, “The sounds got even louder on the fourth night of the Lunar New Year as this is when people welcome the God of Wealth.”

What are your memories of Shanghai?

12月27日，王家卫执导的首部电视剧《繁花》以普通话和沪语两个版本同步开播。

该剧改编自金宇澄获茅盾文学奖的同名话本体长篇小说，以独特的沪语风格生动描绘了那时那个机会遍地的上海。

这是一部几乎全上海演员班底演绎上海九十年代初发展的电视剧，主要讲述主角阿宝从默默无闻的平凡青年到商界后起之秀的奋斗史。

唐嫣在剧中饰演汪小姐，她为这部电视剧投入了大约三年的时间。

“这个角色的激情、勇气、独立和永不屈服的精神与我产生了共鸣。”唐嫣说。

吴越在剧中扮演汪小姐的导师，她说自己很幸运能成为一名演员，尤其是在与这样一位才华横溢的导演合作之后。这使她体验到一种不同的生活。

自12月27日在央视八套和腾讯视频首播以来，这部30集的电视剧已经成为近年来收视率最高的国产电视剧之一，并在网络上引起了轰动。

许多观众高度评价这部剧，因为它温暖人心，深入描绘了20世纪90年代的城市、人民和沧桑变化。

豆瓣网友表示：“在一个充满机遇的时代，王家卫导演对人与人之间深刻情感联系的感人描绘让我震惊。”

在中国社交媒体平台微博，这部普通话版和沪语版的电视剧引发了许多与剧情、演员、上海的美食、方言、建筑和老路有关的热门话题。

上海黄河路的“前世今生”

自从上海出于安全考虑，拆除了不符合安全规范的一些店招，那个霓虹店招层层叠叠铺展到几乎留不出缝隙看天空的上海头牌美食街——黄河路失去了霓虹闪烁的光芒。

叠加亚洲金融危机、2003年非典、美食街去向选择更多元等因素，黄河路最终失去了最火美食街的头衔，变得冷清。

起始于以蝴蝶酥闻名遐迩的国际饭店，不过700多米、窄小的黄河路这几天有多吸粉呢？在工作日的上午，这里依然游客如织。有挂着相机的，也有端着小板凳来对着苔圣园酒家（剧中至真园酒家的原型）写生的，无不想亲眼见证或记录那条曾经最昂贵娱乐场所云集的小马路。

“看看国际饭店就知道了。不少人早上7点甚至6点就在西点屋门口排队了，尽管是8点开门。”在国际饭店对面的写字楼当保安的张师傅说。国际饭店24层楼高，如今淹没在上海的都市森林里，却是1930年代远东第一高楼。

据生活方式平台数据，苔圣园酒家线上支付数量比一周前增长170%，团购下单数量更是猛增240%。

剧中的另一个灵魂场所——上海地标和平饭店这几天也成为另一网红。和平饭店趁热推出《繁花》双人套餐，每日午市、晚市各售10套。“老爷叔的回鱼双宝”“汪小姐心头爱”“范总的焖声发大菜”……一道道紧扣“繁花”style。定价1460元，另收16.6%附加费，价格不菲，但依然火爆。

剧中人物中意的美食这几天在外卖平台上也是异常火爆。高出镜率的“宝总泡饭”带动菜泡饭在平台上的外卖销量翻番不止，汪小姐口中反复出现的“排骨年糕”的外卖点单量也暴涨200%。

《繁花》描绘的弄潮儿生活纸醉金迷，而黄河路石库门老房子里的居民如何看待《繁花》呢？在黄河路石库门住了35年的王永芬觉得：电视剧对90年代的黄河路的刻画还原度还是挺高的。

“黄河路当时有100多家酒家，引领上海滩美食风潮。最早从香港请来大厨、把香港美食带到上海，就是从这里开始。上海人爱赶时髦，90年代香港流行文化在上海大热，我们也常能在黄河路酒家的墙上，看到香港明星与酒家老板的合照。”王永芬说。

而对于90年代初出生于黄河路、10来岁就已随家人移民国外的小黄来说，《繁花》铺展的不仅是家乡美食，更是唤醒了她的很多童年记忆。

“那时候过年市中心还可以放烟花爆竹。听大人说，做生意的人有讲究，鞭炮声越响，来年越是发大财，像是我饭店的鞭炮大过隔壁，明年生意就能好过隔壁一样。大年夜晚上，比电视机还大的一箱箱鞭炮在黄河路上排成行，震天响的爆竹声到第二天太阳升起后还远远近近，此起彼伏。”小黄说。

“还没完呢，大年初四夜里，饭店老板们开始迎财神，那晚的鞭炮更大更响。”

那么，你的上海记忆是什么呢？

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Source: Shanghai Daily, China Daily, 21st Century

Photo: Gong Qing

Edited by Wu Wangtiancheng