From Danwei Blog (link):
Shanghai Beach (上海滩, aka The Bund). An epic tale of the 1930s Shanghai underworld, brimming with mobsters, their beautiful lovers, cool music, Godfather riffs, and tragic deaths. It was broadcast on mainland TV in 1985, turning Chow Yun-fat into a god.
The old version of Shanghai Beach contained a large number of scenes that portrayed the struggles of Xu Wenqiang(ËÆ∏Êñáº∫) and Ding Li(‰∏ÅÂäõ) in Shanghai’s underworld; among these, depictions of gangs make up a large portion, so an informed source has revealed that the drama was “bleached” during review by SARFT. A large amount of gang-related plot elements were deleted.
After several rounds of editing, New Shanghai Beach finally passed review, but its entire structure had been significantly altered. The new drama continues the story of Xu Wengqiang and Feng Chengcheng’s(ÂÜØÁ®ãÁ®ã) love affair, but New Shanghai Beach makes the love affair between Ding Li and Feng Chengcheng a major point as well. The director made additions to Ding Li’s part; not only does he fall in love with Feng Chengcheng in the first episode, but he is portrayed as a model husband who protects Feng Chengcheng to the end even after he is married.
See also “HK to remake Shanghai Beach” by Xinhua News Agency (link); – “Mandarin Cantopop” by Danwei Blog (link)
