''The Drive of Life'' () is a 2007 grand production drama by TVB and

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly ...

as a joint production. It was specially filmed to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the handover of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

back to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

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 Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony. Hong Kong was established as a special adm ...

is used as a narrative device. The series was filmed in Hong Kong,

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

from early October 2006 until May 2007. The automobiles featured in the series are from Geely Automobile,BlogGang.com
/ref> as a fictional brand name "Hua-Zhe". This stars " TVB Best Actress" winners Charmaine Sheh,

Jessica Hsuan Jessica Hester Hsuan (; PA: syn hyn, also known as Suen Huen, is a Hong Kong actress. Early life Hsuan's father gave her the name Jessica, while her mother gave her the middle name Hester. She was educated in Hong Kong at Maryknoll Convent S ...

Myolie Wu Myolie Wu Hang-yee (born 6 November 1979) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is previously managed by Hong Kong TVB television station and Neway Star. In 2011, she won Best Actress for her role in '' Curse of the Royal Harem'', Most Favou ...

and

Sheren Tang Sheren Tang Shui-man (born 2 March 1966) is a Hong Kong actress. She is best known for her roles in the mega-hit Hong Kong TVB drama series '' War and Beauty'', as well as '' La Femme Desperado'', '' The Family Link'', '' Rosy Business'' and '' ...

who won their respective "Best Actress" awards in 2006/2014, 1999, 2011, and 2009/2010.

Astro On Demand Astro On Demand (Simplified as Astro AOD) is a Cantonese-language drama TV channel service co-established by TVB and Astro. It features the latest TVB drama series and broadcasts the same time as the origin channel. The channel was officially ...

Astro Astro may refer to: Entertainment and media * Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band * Astro (UB40) (1957–2021), member of the British reggae band UB40 * Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie rock band * Astro (Japanese band), ...

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

service, starts with the series premiere.

Synopsis

Wah Man-hon, Wah Man-hung and Wah Man-shek were all born in

. 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 Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...

. 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.

Cast

Main cast

Wah family Ng family Wing family Fong family

Other cast

Wah Git Automobile Corporation (Hua-Zhe)

* Jason Chan as Chai Hoi *

Bruce Li Bruce Li (; born Ho Chung-tao; 5 June 1950) is a Taiwanese actor, martial artist and Bruce Lee imitator who starred in martial arts films from the Bruceploitation movement. Career He went to play a stuntman in Taiwan and Hong Kong under the na ...

as Po Gam *Henry Lo as Jung Dung *

Felix Lok Felix Lok Ying-kwan is a Hong Kong actor. His television appearances include roles in '' Looking Back in Anger'', ''The Drive of Life'' and '' The Academy''. Filmography Television series Films *''Heroes of the Underground'' (1976) *''The Ha ...

as Chan Jen Cheung * Ellesmere Choi 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 Junior *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

Bedding & Pillow Company

*So Yun-chi as Mrs Cheung *Law Ho-kai as Mr Go

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 Wong 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 Chin Ka-lok, sometimes credited as Chin Kar-lok (Chinese: 錢嘉樂, Pinyin: Qián Jiālè, born 6 August 1965), is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, and television presenter. Chin was born in Hong Kong, the younger brother of actor and ...

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 Koo Joseph Koo Kar-Fai, MBE, GBS (born 3 February 1933), is a Hong Kong composer, who is considered one of the most respected composers in Hong Kong. He used the pen name Moran (莫然) for Mandarin songs early in his career. Early life Koo h ...

:*Performance:

Hacken Lee Lee Hak Kan (; born 6 December 1967), better known as Hacken Lee, is a Hong Kong singer, television host and actor, active from the 1980s until today. In 2013, Lee's song "House of Cards" swept multiple awards in many Hong Kong award ceremonies, in ...

and Steve Chou

Viewership ratings

Awards and nominations

40th TVB Anniversary Awards (2007) *"Best Drama" *"Best Actor in a Leading Role" (

Damian Lau Damian Lau Chung-yan (born 14 October 1949) 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. Biography ...

) Top 5 *"Best Actor in a Leading Role" (

Michael Miu Michael Miu Kiu-wai ( 苗僑偉) (born 18 June 1958) is a Hong Kong actor and businessman. His career has been met with popular success in his youth, followed by a resurgence in middle age after a period of hiatus. He is considered one of the most ...

) *"Best Actor in a Leading Role" ( Raymond Lam) Top 5 *"Best Actor in a Supporting Role" (Ng Wai-kwok) Top 5 *"Best Actress in a Supporting Role" (Gigi Wong) Top 5 *"Best Actress in a Supporting Role" ( Toby Leung) *"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)

References

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
Can Success be Measured with Money? A Look at the 'Drive' of Life
''Episode Analysis'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Drive of Life TVB dramas 2007 Hong Kong television series debuts 2007 Hong Kong television series endings