Zhang Zi Feng and Ma Jia Qi top the just-confirmed cast
Chinese sci-fi drama We Live in Nanjing has wrapped its filming three months after it began on September 20th in Kunshan, China.
The filming end was announced by production company YOUKU today, along with an official confirmation of the full cast, and the release of photographs of the actors at the drama’s wrap ceremony.
That full We Live in Nanjing cast then now looks like this:
- Director: Li Wei Ran (The Yin Yang Master)
Main Cast
• Zhang Zi Feng as Ban Xia
• Ma Jia Qi as Bai Yang
• Feng Shao Feng as Zhao Bowen
• Cao Bing Kun as Bai Zhen
Supporting Cast
• Wu Shi Le as Lian Qiao
• Li Si Bo as Wang Ning
• Yin Wen Xuan as Yan Zhihan
• Liu Zeng Yu as He Leqin
• Zhou Qi Qi as Li Mei
Yep, it’s a rare male lead role for Ma Jia Qi, who has only appeared in one main and one supporting role in dramas in the last eight years.
Meanwhile, Zhang Zi Feng is more experienced, with over 15 roles under her belt already and at least five more in dramas in various stages of production.
An interesting pairing indeed then.
We Live in Nanjing is a rare Chinese sci-fi drama
Now, I am always excited when a new Chinese drama is announced, and it turns out not to be the usual wuxia or historical mystery drama, but something quite a bit different.
In the case of We Live in Nanjing, the C-drama is a rare sci-fi series that doesn’t pull the punches as it tells the story of the future extinction of the human race.
Having recently watched Mobius, and seen firsthand how well a Chinese production company is able to handle a complicated sci-fi plot, I’m now doubly excited for this.
Based on a novel of the same name — “Wo Men Sheng Huo Zai Nan Jing” (我们生活在南京 — ie: We Live in Nanjing), which was written by Tian Rui Shuo Fu (天瑞说符) — YOUKU describes its plot like this:
In 2019, Bai Yang, a high school senior living in Nanjing, unexpectedly establishes contact via radio with Ban Xia, a girl who claims to be from 2040.
After verifying that Ban Xia is indeed the sole survivor of a post-apocalyptic Nanjing, the two team up to solve the time paradox and attempt to prevent the catastrophe that leads to humanity’s demise.
Like I said, we don’t often get this type of plot in a typical Chinese drama, which immediately makes it stand out among the ever increasing crowd of constantly dropping series.
We Live in Nanjing is also just a 16-episode drama, and considering how many C-dramas I have to finish before beginning to watch even more of those on my watch list, whenever we get what sounds like an interesting series that doesn’t require a huge chunk of my free time, you can probably hear me screaming “Sign me up!” all the way in Beijing.
With production just completed, and post-production now kicking off, it will be a few months at least before YOUKU announces any movement on a possible premiere date.
Until then, enjoy the cast photos from this week’s wrap ceremony. But keep one thing in mind.
With it also being a contemporary drama without as much of the intense post-production required for wuxia and historical romance dramas, chances are We Live in Nanjing will drop sooner than later.
Fingers crossed.
I will keep you updated as things progress, and as more promo pieces drop.
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