This is first and foremost NOT an idol drama but a gritty, exhilarating, and heartbreaking mafia drama. I was surprised at the range of topics that this drama covered, from smuggling, to gambling, to the naivete of NGOs, to the drug trade itself. It showcased a side of the world that I’ve never really thought about. The drama is based off an autobiography from the author Shen Xing Xing about his experience as a driver smuggling goods for the drug lords in the Golden Triangle area of Southeast Asia that comprises of an area in northeastern Myanmar, northwestern Thailand and northern Laos. The Golden Triangle is the largest producer of methamphetamines in the world. This connection is thinly veiled since the drama created new countries, cities, and languages in which the characters had to travel to and speak. The portrayal of drug addiction in the drama, while only in a few scenes, was also quite devastating. There aren’t drug cartel Chinese dramas and I think this is as close as we’re going to get. It’s a breath of fresh air to have this drama air in the sea of romance dramas and family dramas. 

I was a little hesitant after the first episode, questioning where the drama would take us, but I got sucked in to the vibrant world of the Trilateral Slopes. Each person is striving to make the best out of their existence in this chaotic, dirty, and war-stricken land. There’s brotherhood, budding romances, and glimpses of innocence, but that is quickly quashed in the realities of survival, politics, and power. None survive unscathed in these unforgiving lands and it was fascinating to watch as different characters come to their individual realizations that perhaps they cannot be saved. As I was watching, I couldn’t help but think, what would have been my actions and choices? Would I have made the same ones?

What’s interesting is that China is featured only minimally in the drama and there are no scenes that takes place on Chinese land. This drama uses this fictional world as its playground. China also isn’t shown as the “Big Brother” that the US often is in which a US agent shows up with his superior firearms and just bulldozes his way. China’s presence is more, oh the characters are jealous of what China can offer, but there’s no knight in shining armor that shows up to save anyone.

This drama was a big hit for Youku in its initial days, easily breaching the 10,000 mark. There was also a lot of buzz surrounding this drama with its unique premise, strong plot, and acting. The drama couldn’t keep its momentum in the second half but this was still an extremely enjoyable watch for me because of the world these characters inhabited. It was both familiar yet foreign to me, which is a testament to my lack of travels to southeast Asia. I highly recommend watching at least the first half of this drama.

A word of caution. This is a brutal drama that is much more gruesome that your typical Chinese drama. I was honestly shocked that some of the scenes were allowed to air.

What I liked

• There’s No Escape from the Trilateral Slopes: The drama started extremely strong as we followed Shen Xing’s journey into the Trilateral Slopes. I was pulled in by the charismatic characters and promise of fortune in these lands. That’s what pulled all of the characters too. Slowly but surely, the characters realized that there is no escape. There is something compelling that keeps him or her here even if it may spell doom and I sure as heck enjoyed but also lamented the fates of many of these characters.
• Cast of Characters: The supporting cast is quite big for this short drama but most of them did a spectacular job. From the local thugs to the young naïve boy, to the seasoned and desperate scammer, to the bar owner with a heart of gold but ultimately gets destroyed because of it, the cast really embodied their characters as just players stuck in this unforgiving land. Some of my favorites (acting-wise) were Francis Ng, Jiang Qi Lin, Zhao Run Nan, and Qi Xi. There were also characters that only appeared for a few episodes but they left such an impression on me! Honestly, I cared much more about many of these different characters than the main lead. I was also introduced to many actors and actresses who are from different minority groups and were able to speak some of their local dialects in the drama. Which, speaking of…

• Language and Dialects: This is the first time any Chinese drama has created a different language to be used during the show. A professor from Yun Nan created the fictional language used by the Republic of Bomo in the show and I thought it was extremely well done. It draws heavily from dialects from Yunnan Province, especially the Dai language. I don’t know Thai or Burmese or Lao so I can’t comment on if these languages are similar but early on in the drama, I didn’t realize that this was a fictional language and I thought – huh, this sounds familiar but I don’t know that this is. I was shocked to discover that it was invented for the drama. Many characters in the drama had to learn the words of this language and act it out convincingly, which they did! Some actors showcased their home dialects including Francis Ng (Cantonese) and Qi Xi (Gui Yang Dialect). Other actors had to stretch their skills by speaking with completely different twangs such as Jiang Qi Ming with a Guan Xi, bordering Burmese accent that I couldn’t believe he was actually Chinese! It’s so rare to see hear so many dialects and I just spent much of my viewing enjoying the different dialects. All of the written words seen in the drama are also of this fictious language. 

• Creation of the world of the Trilateral Slopes: The drama was filmed on location in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in the southwest of China and borders Laos and Myanmar. The local minority is the Dai minority and everything from clothing, written language, and spoken language was heavily influenced by the Dai minority. This is one of my first times getting exposure to this part of China and I soaked it all up. The luscious mountains, lakes, and rivers to the Buddhist architecture all added to the mystery of the Trilateral Slopes. The production also went to painstaking lengths to add in the written language and hide Chinese wherever possible to create this world. It’s EXTREMELY rare to be transported to a new world in a Chinese drama and this one really did.

What Could Have Been Better

• Guo Qi Lin’s acting: Guo Qi Lin was the weakest link in the drama. It’s not like he’s really bad per se, but in many of his scenes, he’s underselling the gravity of those situations or just starring blankly into the void. It also doesn’t help that the supporting cast of characters are acting circles around him. He really couldn’t keep up the romance in the drama and I was feeling quite icky about it. In the second half of the drama, I keep getting an arrogant man flaunting his power vibe from Guo Qi Lin. I guess that was also a part of his character, but boy was I so annoyed at him. I also can’t believe he’s only 28 right now so he probably was 26 when he began filming the drama. He keeps giving old man vibes even though he is very young. Some of the other young actors never gave that vibe. World-weary, yes, but not old. I think it’s his hunching but Guo Qi Lin just looked tired all the time. 
• Guo Qi Lin’s Accent: It’s also a mystery to me why Guo Qi Lin kept his original accent. He grew up performing Xiang Sheng, which is a specific Beijing / Tianjin or Northern Style of performing arts. Guo Qi Lin has a REALLY thick original accent and that’s detrimental in two ways in the drama. First – it’s unbelievable that a kid from the hutongs of Beijing or Tianjin, which are some of the most EXPENSIVE real estate in China, would leave home to work in constructions in these troubled lands. The vast majority of people who have this accent in the 21st century have SOME money. . Second, the way Guo Qi Lin enunciates and his interactions with others is still similar of how he performs Xiang Sheng. Someone talks and he reacts often with a smile on his face. There’s also an up and down lilt in when he talks. When he’s acting in roles that are for comedic purposes, this cadence or lilt of way of talking isn’t an issue because the role masks his speech pattern. But in this drama where he is literally the ONLY person with this accent and a serious role, it really detracts from the overall experience. Shen Xing’s uncle doesn’t even have this accent. Other actors and actresses had to learn different accents and pulled those off with aplomb so why couldn’t Guo Qi Lin do the same?
• Weak Second Act: This ties to Guo Qi Lin’s acting and the focus towards Shen Xing in the second half as a man with some power, struggling with his conscience, but ultimately weak willed. Buddy, just acknowledge that you’re a henchman with some smarts and live your life from there. It was so satisfying when other characters began calling him out for it because YES, either grow a spine or just accept your place in this world. I began focusing my attention on all the other characters rather than him. 

Stray Observations:

There was some interesting product placement in the drama. Balvenie and Gucci and a tiny bit of Versace were the main Western brands that were prominently featured in the drama. In a drama where even the beer was uniform and completely non-descript, the fact that there were a few shots in which Uncle Cai prominently showed Balvenie bottles lead me quite curious on why this scotch was selected. I personally enjoy Balvenie and saw quick a lot of them in Taiwan but don’t know if they translate to the Golden Triangle. Then there was the Gucci. Several characters wore Gucci shirts and belts although I can’t validate whether they were all knockoffs or not. I think that must be the case for several characters.  

Go ahead and watch this drama!

Cathy