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Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams. - Yeats

UPDATED: Tong Yao Film & TV guide 31st Mar 2025 / Sun Li Film & TV guide 13th May 2024

Monday, March 31, 2025

The Miracles: Tong Yao & Hu Ge Reunite for an Exciting New Anthology Series

#TheMiracles #奇迹 #TongYao #童瑶 #HuGe #胡歌 #cdrama

Hello fellow Tong Yao fans! Apologies for the delay, but I'm finally catching up on the announcement from late January about Tong Yao's role in The Miracles 奇迹. This also gives me a good excuse to update her filmography.

CCTV announced on January 21st that they are partnering with the Shenzhen Municipal Publicity Department to create The Miracles, a collection of short dramas celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and its incredible journey from a small border town into a modern international metropolis. The CMG and Shenzhen Municipal Publicity Department believe that Shenzhen exemplifies Chinese modernization and the pursuit of a better life, and they're aiming to gather stories from around the world to commemorate this transformative journey.

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Cesium Fallout Review: Disaster with a Touch of Tong Yao

#TongYao #童瑶 #HongKongCinema #FilmReview #CesiumFallout #焚城 #AndyLau #劉德華 #BaiYu #白宇 #KarenMok #莫文蔚
Tong Yao (童瑶) as Li Meiyi in Cesium Fallout (焚城)
I’ll admit, my main reason for watching Cesium Fallout was Tong Yao—I’m working through her entire filmography. A friend who reviewed the movie warned me that her screen time would be limited. Even before his warning, I suspected as much when I saw her credited as a guest star in a disaster film. That usually signals a brief but pivotal role.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Chinese Drama: 四喜 (Si Xi) - Wrap Up & CCTV 2025 TV Series Release Event

  #TongYao #童瑶 #四喜 #CDrama #黄明昊 #HuangMinghao #蒋欣 #JiangXin #ThoseDays

Si Xi (unofficial English title Those Days) announced that production wrapped on December 15th. As is often the case, the production team released stills and a wrap SP video to mark the occasion. A few days earlier, on December 11th, Si Xi was featured at the CCTV 2025 TV Series Release Event. This suggests that the series will likely air on CCTV as well as receive an online release through Tencent's platforms.

I’ve already written an English summary of what the story might be about, but with a caveat: these summaries are often based on the novel that the series is adapted from, and TV adaptations sometimes take creative liberties. The series’ official Weibo account has yet to provide much concrete information about the plot.

Tuesday, October 01, 2024

Chinese Drama: 足迹 (Zu Ji) - 杀青 - production wraps - write-up

 #TongYao #童瑶 #足迹 #RyanChengLei #丞磊 #LiuYijun #刘奕君 #CDrama 

Zu Ji’s official Weibo account has announced the completion of production. We still don't have an official English title for this series, so I'll keep calling it Zu Ji for now. As is often the case with Chinese drama series, they have also released stills and a video to celebrate the wrap-up.  Tong Yao looks stunning in the stills and videos; I hope the story will be just as good.

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Chinese drama: 四喜 (Si Xi) officially announced

  #TongYao #童瑶 #四喜 #CDrama #黄明昊 #HuangMinghao #蒋欣 #JiangXin

A day after I wrote the previous post, "Si Xi" was officially announced and an official Weibo account was step up.  When the project was announced some time ago and no actors had been attached to it yet, the working title was “Those Days” (十月人生). The Chinese title has since changed to 四喜, and there doesn’t seem to be an official English title for the drama yet.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Chinese drama: 四喜 (Si Xi) begins production

 #TongYao #童瑶 #四喜 #CDrama #黄明昊 #HuangMinghao #蒋欣 #JiangXin

While this has yet to be officially announced, it seems pretty confirmed that Tong Yao will be taking a leading role in this series. I’m basing this on a few Weibo posts that featured Huang Minghao at the ceremony marking the start of production for this drama series.

According to this article, the series is based on the novel “有喜” (You Xi) by 清扬婉兮 (Qing Yang Wan Xi). Tong Yao will play Shen Mingzhu. Mingzhu lives in the old town of Nanxi with her adoptive parents, who run a small restaurant. Mingzhu’s boyfriend, Feng Jianqi (played by Fu Xinbo), comes from an affluent family and faces opposition from his family due to their different social statuses. The two lovers end up getting married due to an unexpected pregnancy.

Monday, September 16, 2024

Hong Kong movie: Cesium Fallout 焚城 release announcement

 #TongYao #HongKongCinema #CesiumFallout #焚城 #AndyLau #BaiYu #KarenMok

Tong Yao’s management officially announced via Weibo today that she will be making a guest-starring appearance in the film.

The trailer actually looks more than decent, which makes me hopeful that it might be a fun movie to watch. I’m likely to watch this in the cinema simply because Tong Yao is in it. She hasn’t appeared in a film in years, and there is no clear indication that she’ll make a return to it. So I wouldn’t want to pass on an opportunity to see her on the big screen.