Steel Meets Fire

Two-part TV film made by Chen Kaige for Air Force Political Department Drama Troupe.

This Chinese period drama series follows the fortunes of a prominent merchant family engaged in Traditional Chinese Medicine during the waning years of the Ching dynasty. The affairs of this family of doctors/pharmacists (which in those days were one and the same) are intimately linked with social upheavals of the time such as the encroachment of Christian missionaries and foreign imperialism as well as conflicts that inevitably emerge in a large upper class family. Comparable in scope and production value to such recent titles as "Downton Abbey", the lives and character of both masters and servants intertwine in plot lines that spans more than a generation.

A communist soldier is sent to a remote region of China in order to collect folk songs. Staying with a peasant family (a widower with two small children), he discovers a community whose way of life is completely alien to him, but he gradually wins their trust.

A group of young people from all corners of the country work in a Beijing publishing press. They all live in the same shabby apartment block, where their lives intertwine.

When a woman is forced to work as a teacher in rural mainland China, she sees a clear goal. If she can become a certified, government employee, then she can teach her students and make a better life for herself at the same time. She carries a heavy responsibility, however. For most of her students, the education that they receive in her classroom is the only preparation they will have for the entrance exams to college-the only avenue out of poor, rural life. Can she balance her needs and the needs of so many young, hopeful people?

Carol 'Do Do' Cheng portrays the tough, eventful life of "Mama Boss" from childhood in pre-1949 Guilin to disillusionment in 1970s Taipei, where she struggles to run a noodle shop and contend with a host of colourful customers.

During the Anti-Japanese War, Eighth Route Army officer Ma Ying returns to his hometown to mobilize resistance against Japanese forces and traitors. As enemies plot to turn villagers against each other, Ma Ying must rally the people to prevent a devastating massacre.

A squadron of the armed police force is responsible for escorting a group of serious criminals on a special train.

To fight against the Hong Kong triads and their drugs, police officers are investigating a women drug rehabilitation center.