The Drive of Life
Encyclopedia
The Drive of Life is a 2007 grand production drama by TVB
and CCTV
as a joint production. It was specially filmed to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the handover
of Hong Kong
back to China
from Britain
during the period of 1997-2007.
The theme of the series revolves around the automobile industry in China
. Told in flashback from 1994, the ups and downs and transformations that Hong Kong has been experiencing before and after the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
is used as a narrative device. The series was filmed in Hong Kong, Beijing
, Ningbo
and Vancouver
from early October 2006 until May 2007. The automobiles featured in the series are from Geely Automobile
, as a fictional brand name
"Hua-Zhe".
Astro On Demand
, Astro's video on demand
service, starts with the series premiere.
. As a result of the massive political upheaval and the profound misunderstanding among them, the three brothers have fallen out and now live separately in Hong Kong, Beijing and Vancouver respectively.
Man-hon's business goes down the pan in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis. The only saving grace is that members of the Wah family from around the world, including Man-hon's son Wah Chun-bong and Hung's son Wah Chun-man, can finally put their prejudice aside and become reconciled with one another. To realize the century-old dream of the family, they decide to work together to develop the local automobile industry.
After ten years of struggle, the Wahs have established its own brand of automobile – a brand the whole Chinese nation is proud of. They make a significant and ongoing contribution to China's automobile industry for they believe that only cars of our own will take us to a better future.
Ng family
Wing family
Fong family
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
and CCTV
China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
as a joint production. It was specially filmed to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the handover
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
back to China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
from Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during the period of 1997-2007.
The theme of the series revolves around the automobile industry in China
Automobile industry in China
Automotive industry in the People's Republic of China has become the largest automotive market in the world since late 2008. China's automobile industry has been in rapid development since the early 1990s...
. Told in flashback from 1994, the ups and downs and transformations that Hong Kong has been experiencing before and after the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
is used as a narrative device. The series was filmed in Hong Kong, Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Ningbo
Ningbo
Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...
and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
from early October 2006 until May 2007. The automobiles featured in the series are from Geely Automobile
Geely Automobile
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is a holding company and parent of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd a private automobile manufacturer. Geely may often round out the top ten Chinese automakers....
, as a fictional brand name
Fictional brands
A fictional brand is a non-existing brand used in artistic or entertainment productions – paintings, books, comics, movies, TV serials, etc. The fictional brand may be designed to imitate a real corporate brand, satirize a real corporate brand, or differentiate itself from real corporate brands...
"Hua-Zhe".
Astro On Demand
Astro On Demand
Astro On Demand is the brand-name of a range of near video on demand services from Astro on the same platform of the same name.Astro On Demand is a HK drama channel co-established by HK TVBI and Malay Astro. While broadcasting the newest HK drama on the same time HK does, it also plays TVB dramas...
, Astro's video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
service, starts with the series premiere.
Synopsis
Wah Man-hon, Wah Man-hung and Wah Man-shek were all born in BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. As a result of the massive political upheaval and the profound misunderstanding among them, the three brothers have fallen out and now live separately in Hong Kong, Beijing and Vancouver respectively.
Man-hon's business goes down the pan in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis. The only saving grace is that members of the Wah family from around the world, including Man-hon's son Wah Chun-bong and Hung's son Wah Chun-man, can finally put their prejudice aside and become reconciled with one another. To realize the century-old dream of the family, they decide to work together to develop the local automobile industry.
After ten years of struggle, the Wahs have established its own brand of automobile – a brand the whole Chinese nation is proud of. They make a significant and ongoing contribution to China's automobile industry for they believe that only cars of our own will take us to a better future.
Main cast
Wah family| Cast | Role |
| Damian Lau Damian Lau Damian Lau Chung-yan is a Hong Kong film and television actor, executive producer and film director. Lau has starred in many television drama series of various genres, produced by Hong Kong's TVB and ATV.-Early career:... |
Wah Man-hon 華文翰 |
| Gigi Wong | Hui Chaam-yan 許湛恩 |
| Jessica Hsuan Jessica Hsuan Jessica Hester Hsuan, or Suen Huen is a Hong Kong actress. Jessica holds a degree from Imperial College London.She is currently one of the most popular television actresses of Hong Kong. She started her career in late 1992 and early 1993... |
Wah Ching-yu 華清瑜 |
| Raymond Lam Raymond Lam Raymond Lam Fung is a Hong Kong actor and singer contracted to the television station TVB and EEG's Music Plus label. He has been famous with his "choking" look.-Early years:Raymond Lam was born into a wealthy family... |
Wah Chun-bong 華振邦 |
| Liao Jingsheng | Wah Man-hung 華文鴻 |
| Feng Shaofeng Feng Shaofeng Feng Wei , better known by his stage name Feng Shaofeng , is a Chinese actor. He is currently an artist under the management of Huayi Brothers.-Early life:... |
Wah Chun-man 華振民 |
| Michael Miu Michael Miu Michael Miu Kiu-wai is a Hong Kong television and film actor. He was considered as one of the most popular young actors of the 1980s, and along with Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Felix Wong, and Kent Tong, he was a member of TVB's Five Tigers... |
Wah Man-sek 華文碩 |
| Sheren Tang Sheren Tang Sheren Tang Shui-man is a famous Hong Kong television actress who is known for not signing a long-term contract with TVB, preferring to work on a per-drama contract with the TV station. She is most famous for her roles in the mega-hit TVB drama series like War and Beauty, La Femme Desperado, The... |
Wang Siu-fun 汪紹芬 |
| Toby Leung Toby Leung Toby Jing-Kei Leung is a female Cantopop singer and actress from Hong Kong. She entered the music industry in 2004 when the MusicNationGroup discovered her talent. Together with Macy Chan, Elise Liu and Bella Cheung they formed the singing group Girl's only Dormitory but later broke up... |
Wah Ching-lam 華清琳 |
| Lau Kong Lau Kong Lau Kong is a Hong Kong actor who works on the network TVB.-Biography:Little is known of Lau's private life, but he has been acting since 1976, when he first joined the now defunct network Commercial Television, he later joined RTV Lau Kong (劉江) is a Hong Kong actor who works on the network... |
Wang Ching-kwok 汪政國 |
| Power Chan Power Chan Power Chan or Chan Kwok-Pong is an actor in Hong Kong. He has appeared in numerous TVB drama series as well as films. He dated cantopop singer and actress Mimi Lo for 7 years before marrying her on December 2, 2009.-TV series:-Film:-References:... |
Wang Siu-leung 汪紹良 |
Ng family
| Cast | Role |
| Benz Hui Benz Hui Benz Hui Shiu-hung is a Hong Kong actor who currently works on the TV station TVB. He used to work on ATV before switching over to TVB.-Family background:... |
Ngai Ling-tai 危令泰 |
| Mary Hon Mary Hon Mary Hon is an actress from TVB in Hong Kong. She has appeared in many television series, such as Beyond the Realm of Conscience.-TV series:-External links:... |
Lo Ho-yuet 盧皓月 |
| Joe Ma | Ngai Wing-biu 危永標 |
| Ron Ng Ron Ng Ron Ng Cheuk-hei is a Hong Kong TVB actor, singer, professional dancer, ambassador, and model. He is one of the most demanded artists from TVB.-Early Childhood:... |
Ngai Gai-keung 危介強 |
| Lawrence Ng Wai-kwok | Ngai Tin-hang 危天行 |
Wing family
| Cast | Role |
| Wong Chik-sam | Wing Sau-fung's father |
| Maggie Chan | Wai Cheung-ping 衞長萍 |
| Charmaine Sheh Charmaine Sheh Charmaine Sheh Sze-man is a Hong Kong TVB actress.Sheh is best known for her roles in TVB dramas, including Return of the Cuckoo, Country Spirit, Perish in the Name of Love, Angels of Mission, War and Beauty, The Dance of Passion,The Drive of Life, Maidens' Vow, Forensic Heroes II,Beyond the Realm... |
Wing Sau-fung 榮秀風 |
Fong family
| Cast | Role |
| Lai Suen | Ching Tai-tie 錢帶娣 |
| Lee Kwok-lun | Fong Yiu-chong 方耀忠 |
| Myolie Wu Myolie Wu Myolie Wu Hang-yee is a Hong Kong actress for the Hong Kong TVB television station and a singer under contracts with Neway Star-Career:... |
Fong Bing-yi 方秉怡 |
| Jeffrey Wong | |
Wah Git Automobile Corporation
- Jason ChanJason ChanJason Keng-Kwin Chan starred on Power Rangers: Ninja Storm in 2003 as Cameron Watanabe, the Green Samurai Ranger. He was born in Malaysia and moved to Perth with his family when he was only 5...
as Chai Hoi - Bruce LiBruce LiBruce Li is one of the stage names of Ho Chung Tao , a Taiwanese martial artist and Bruce Lee imitator who starred in martial arts movies from the Bruceploitation movement.-Early life:...
as Po Gam - Henry Lo as Jung Dung
- Felix Lok as Cahn Jen Cheung
- Ellesmere ChoiEllesmere ChoiEllesmere Choi Chi Kin is a Hong Kong television actor for TVB. He attended TVB's training classes in 1993.-TV series:*In the Eye of the Beholder *His True Father...
as Ng Zhi-ming - Reyan Yan as So San
- Ng Wai-shan as Ka Ling
- Anita Kwan as Siu Man
- Koo Ming-wa as Lo Hon
- Anita Kwan as Siu Man
- Adam Ip as employee
- Martin Tong as employee
- Jason Lam as employee
- Steven Ho as employee
- Candy Cheung as employee
- Pauline Chow as employee
- Jim Tang as employee
- Wong Wai-tak as Matthew
- Gregory Charles Rivers as R&D group leader
- Tsang Wai-wan as researcher
- Wong Ka-yi as secretary
- Wilson Tsui
Kwok Wai Steel Corporation
- Kwong Chor-fai
- Kong Hon
- Joe JuniorJoe JuniorJoe Junior is a popular Hong Kong English pop singer from Hong Kong during the 1960s. He has since been in a number of TVB drama series in the 1990s and 2000s playing older character roles. Joe Junior is his stage name. Regularly appeared on TV music programs as host and as performer...
- Simon Lo
- Kwok Tak-shun
- Lee Hoi-sang
- Leo Tsang
- Chu Wai-tak
- Tsui Wing
- Siu Chuen-yung as Ho Kin
Sirius International Investment Corporation
- Rocky Cheng as Rocky
- Rachel Kan as Ngai Tin-hang's secretary
Canada & associates
- Ko Jun-man as Mr Kwan
- Lee Gong-lung as Mr Chan
- Billy Lam as detective
- Lee Cheung-dou as Yuen Yiu-wai
- Chan On-ying as Mrs Yuen
- Joseph Yeung as psychologist
Others
- Michael WongMichael WongMichael Wong may refer to:*Michael Wong , also known as Michael Fitzgerald Wong or Wong Man-Tak, Hong Kong based actor, director, producer and singer*Michael Wong , also known as Guang Liang, Taiwan-based Malaysian singer...
as Wai Lun - Zhao Ke as Lee Seen-sin
- Angela Tong as Chi Chi
- Leanne Li as Bo Wai
- Deno Cheung as Lam Leung
- Matthew Ko
- Vivien Yeo as Carman
- Annie Chung as car fan
- Yeung Ying-wai as Peter
- Henry Lee as bank executive
- Cheng Ka-sang as Tai Tung Tat garage worker
- Patrick Dunn as Lee Kai-fat
- Ha Ping as Wah family's great aunty (ep22)
- Yu Tze-ming as Wong Cheung
- Lau Tin-lung as reporter
- Meini Cheung as Kong Man
- Leung Kin Ping as Mr Ma (ep32)
- Chin Kar-lok as Chan Ka-lok (ep33-35)
- Jo Jo as Cho Hung (ep35)
- Tammy Ho
- Siu Cheuk-hiu as Mr Cheung
- Lee Tsi-kei as Muk Chuen
- Ng Man-sang as interpreter
- Winnie Shum
- Jacky Yeung
- Chan Yu-hei
- Ho Jun-hin as stock broker
- Kwok Fung as Sung Hok-li
- Lee Fung
- Law Kwan-chor
- Candy Cheung
- Peter Pang as jockey club staff
- Lee Kai-kit as doctor
- Wong Kei-sen as a signature specialist
- Helena Wong
Theme song
The Sky is Blue (天這樣藍)- Lyrics: Sandy Chang
- Composition and Arrangement: Joseph KooJoseph KooJoseph Koo Kar-Fai, MBE, SBS is one of the most respected composers in Hong Kong. He used the pen name Moran for Mandarin songs. He is the younger brother of famous Chinese singer Koo Mei .-Career:...
- Performance: Hacken LeeHacken LeeHacken Lee Hak Kan is an award winning Hong Kong based Cantopop singer and lyricist, actor, Master of Ceremonies and Association football sportscaster.-Early years: 1985-1995:...
and Steve Chou
Viewership ratings
| Week | Episode | Average Points | Peaking Points | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 16 - July 20, 2007 | 1 — 5 | ||||
| July 23 - July 27, 2007 | 6 — 10 | ||||
| July 30 - August 3, 2007 | 11 — 15 | ||||
| August 6 - August 10, 2007 | 16 — 20 | ||||
| August 13 - August 17, 2007 | 21 — 25 | ||||
| August 20 - August 24, 2007 | 26 — 30 | ||||
| August 27 - August 31, 2007 | 31 — 35 | ||||
| September 3 - September 7, 2007 | 36 — 40 | ||||
| September 10 - September 14, 2007 | 41 — 45 | ||||
| September 17 - September 21, 2007 | 46 — 50 | ||||
| September 24 - September 28, 2007 | 51 — 55 | ||||
| October 1 - October 5, 2007 | 56 — 60 |
Award nominations
40th TVB Anniversary Awards (2007)TVB Anniversary Awards (2007)
TVB Anniversary Awards 2007 is an award ceremony that celebrates the best in TVB programming of 2007. The award ceremony took place on November 17, 2007.-Best Actor:"Best Actor in a Leading Role" Award ....
- "Best Drama"
- "Best Actor in a Leading Role" (Damian LauDamian LauDamian Lau Chung-yan is a Hong Kong film and television actor, executive producer and film director. Lau has starred in many television drama series of various genres, produced by Hong Kong's TVB and ATV.-Early career:...
) - "Best Actor in a Leading Role" (Michael MiuMichael MiuMichael Miu Kiu-wai is a Hong Kong television and film actor. He was considered as one of the most popular young actors of the 1980s, and along with Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Felix Wong, and Kent Tong, he was a member of TVB's Five Tigers...
) - "Best Actor in a Leading Role" (Raymond LamRaymond LamRaymond Lam Fung is a Hong Kong actor and singer contracted to the television station TVB and EEG's Music Plus label. He has been famous with his "choking" look.-Early years:Raymond Lam was born into a wealthy family...
) - "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" (Ng Wai-kwok)
- "Best Actress in a Supporting Role" (Gigi Wong)
- "Best Actress in a Supporting Role" (Toby LeungToby LeungToby Jing-Kei Leung is a female Cantopop singer and actress from Hong Kong. She entered the music industry in 2004 when the MusicNationGroup discovered her talent. Together with Macy Chan, Elise Liu and Bella Cheung they formed the singing group Girl's only Dormitory but later broke up...
) - "My Favourite Male Character Role" (Damian Lau)
- "My Favourite Male Character Role" (Michael Miu)
- "My Favourite Male Character Role" (Ng Wai-kwok)
- "My Favourite Male Character Role" (Joe Ma)
External links
- TVB.com The Drive of Life - Official Website
- CCTV Official Site The Drive of Life
- K for TVB.net The Drive of Life - Episodic Synopsis and Screen Captures