Nothing But Thirty - TV Series Overview

Duration: 1 day. Play methods: photography, self-driving, independent travel, budget travel, saving [...]

Duration: 1 day. Play methods: photography, self-driving, independent travel, budget travel, saving money, weekend tour. Posted on August 3, 2023, 11:36.

The 43-episode TV series ‘Nothing But Thirty’ premiered in 2020. Directed by Zhang Xiaobo, starring Jiang Shuying/Tong Yao/Yang Le/Mao Xiaotong/Li Zefeng/etc.

Brief introduction to the content of the 43-episode TV series ‘Nothing But Thirty’: ‘Nothing But Thirty’ tells the various crises and confusions faced by three women at the age of thirty and records their tenacious growth as they move forward fearlessly. Gu Jia (played by Tong Liya) is at the enviable top of the pyramid. She has transformed her husband from a fireworks programmer into ‘President Xu’ and has also made herself a full-time wife who is in charge of everything inside and out. However, when there is an intruder in this family, Gu Jia does not escape. Wang Manni (played by Jiang Shuying) is a maverick rebel. She firmly believes that she has both beauty and brains and always deserves better. However, she also has her own troubles. Zhong Xiaoqin (played by Mao Xiaotong) is the standardized majority. Married to a husband with an iron rice bowl in a public institution, she has an ordinary job herself and is content to be an ordinary wife. But due to her writing hobby, she accidentally sold a high-priced copyright. The economic and social status of the couple was inverted overnight. The marriage where the woman is stronger and the man is weaker instantly lost its balance. Zhong Xiaoqin is faced with a choice.

Plot introduction of episode 28 of ‘Nothing But Thirty’: Wang Manni has returned to her hometown. Although Mother Wang has been clamoring for Wang Manni to come back, now that Wang Manni has suddenly returned without saying hello, she can’t help but worry. Mother Wang also found that Wang Manni’s mood was not right. Father Wang guessed that Wang Manni should have been hit and couldn’t stay in Shanghai anymore before coming back. So he urged Mother Wang to ask less and talk less. And in two days it will be Wang Manni’s birthday. Take this opportunity to warm the child’s heart well on this birthday. (Still from the drama).

In episode 28 of ‘Nothing But Thirty’, because Wang Manni has suffered a double blow in her emotions and career in Shanghai, she decides to return to her hometown for development. Wang Manni’s hometown is a very warm small town, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the scenery is very beautiful. In the drama, Manni said that her hometown is in Quzhou. In fact, the shooting location here is not in Quzhou, but in an ancient town in Pudong, Shanghai – Xinchang Ancient Town. The shooting location of Wang Manni’s home is Xijia Hall in Xinchang Ancient Town, Pudong District, Shanghai. Follow my camera and enter Wang Manni’s hometown in ‘Nothing But Thirty’ to find out. (Still from the drama).

Wang Manni returns home with her suitcase, and the neighbors all greet her warmly. (Actual scene shooting). The street where Wang Manni’s hometown is shot is called Hongdong Street. The most famous scenic spots on Hongdong Street are Xijia Hall and Xijia East Hall, and there are still descendants living there. Wang Manni’s home is filmed at Xi’s Eastern Chamber. (Actual scene photography)

Xi’s Eastern Chamber is built facing south along the street, a three-part Chinese and Western architecture, originally constructed at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and was the location of the ‘Xi Changsheng Herbal Medicine Store’. The seemingly dilapidated facade with broken walls and a door head, on the first floor, the exquisite reliefs of the arched Roman column windows and the arched main door, showcase the Qing Dynasty’s Chinese and Western architectural craftsmanship. It gives a sense of the beauty of imperfection, evoking nostalgia for the past. (Still from the drama)

Wang Manni steps into her home (the main door of Xi’s Eastern Chamber), ‘Mom and Dad, I’m back!’ (Still from the drama)

When Wang Manni returns to her hometown, it happens to be her thirtieth birthday, and her parents have specially organized a very sensational birthday party for her, with almost all the villagers of the small town attending. One might mistakenly think someone is celebrating a significant birthday. (Still from the drama)

Unexpectedly, Wang Manni’s 30th birthday banquet is so grand, with such a long table banquet that fills the alley, a single shot cannot contain it, presumably inviting everyone in the village. Everyone enjoys eating, drinking, talking, and laughing, with a full atmosphere and a strong local flavor. (StillAt the banquet, Wang Manni takes group photos with everyone and receives a continuous stream of congratulatory red envelopes, making her very happy.

A grand birthday banquet was filmed on this Hongdong Street.

Xi’s Xi Changsheng Pharmacy is the most famous store in Xinchang. The ancestors of the Xi family were from Nanjing, and as early as the Ming Dynasty’s Zhengtong period, the Nanjing Xi family moved to Chuansha to sell medicinal herbs and engage in itinerant medical activities. By the Wanli period, their descendants opened the Xi Changsheng Herbal Medicine Store in Chuansha. Their sixth-generation descendant, Xi Qiliang, moved the herbal medicine store to Xinchang at the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. This herbal medicine store was passed down to the 15th generation when Shanghai was liberated. In 1952, the herbal medicine store merged with other stores in the town and was renamed Xinlian Pharmacy, and in 1956, it was converted into a public-private partnership. In the past, Xi Changsheng Pharmacy’s cooling medicine ‘Zijin Ding’ was well-known and popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and was exported overseas. Zijin Ding, also known as Yushu Dan, has the special effects of detoxifying, resolving phlegm, opening the orifices, reducing swelling, and relieving pain, and can be taken both internally and externally.

Wang Manni comes out of her home and wants to take a walk on the street.

She happens to meet a classmate riding an electric bike, who invites Manni to ride with her. The classmate says, ‘What are you being so polite for? If you’re too polite, I’ll be unhappy.’ In the series, Wang Mani hops onto her classmate’s electric scooter…

Here is the filming location where Wang Mani meets her classmate on the electric scooter, with the ‘Soup Dumpling Place’ sign still visible in the background.

‘Still from the drama’ ‘Really, it’s been so long since I’ve ridden this thing.’

Her father helps Wang Manni bring out her bicycle that hasn’t been ridden for a long time from the house.

In front of the Xi’s Eastern Hall, there is a group of Jiangnan character sculptures, among which the ‘Medicine Grinding Worker’ confirms the location of Xi Changsheng’s medicine shop. The ‘Urinating Boy’ sculpture is particularly charming.

Wang Manni receives a package at her home entrance, opening the box while basking in the sun. A neighbor greets her: ‘Mani, are you enjoying the sun?’

During the day, Wang Manni visits a coffee shop in the small town, and after taking a sip, she realizes that it is not the hand-brewed coffee advertised. The coffee shop waiter tries to pass off instant coffee, and even asks Wang Manni if she wants a manicure, claiming that many people in the coffee shop enjoy both activities simultaneously. Wang Manni is surprised to learn of such a business model.

The scene of Wang Manni drinking coffee was filmed at a small shop by the riverbank on Xiatang Street, which has become a leisure street with the development of tourism in Xinchang Ancient Town. More accurately, it is a food street within the ancient town.

Many people’s first reaction to ancient towns is places like Tongli, Zhouzhuang, and Wuzhen, as these places are very famous. In comparison, the Xinchang Ancient Town in Pudong is indeed less known, and it still maintains the oldest architecture and lifestyle, untouched by development or commercialization. From this perspective, the choice of filming location for ‘Nothing But Thirty’ in Xinchang Ancient Town is very appropriate.

Shanghai’s Xinchang Ancient Town was once valued by the great director Ang Lee and became the filming location for his movie ‘Lust, Caution’. Subsequently, numerous film crews and celebrities have visited Xinchang, attracted by its authentic charm, as Xinchang has always maintained the familiar old flavor of Shanghai. Xinchang Ancient Town has gained fame, with more and more films and TV dramas, such as the popular movie ‘Ferryman’, followed by ‘My Goddess, My Mother’, ‘Because I Met You’, ‘August Rush’, and the hit TV series ‘The National Day’, all filming in Xinchang Ancient Town.

Ang Lee said that Xinchang Ancient Town has more of the flavor of Jiangnan towns in the 1920s and 1930s. The ancient river channels, the original lifestyle, and the waterside residences together form a charming picture of old Shanghai.