China Scene: East

True-life salon romance shot and serialized

Freelancer He Gaode and a group of lay actors and actresses in Yichun, Jiangxi province, have made a four-episode TV series based on a true story. It is about a kind and virtuous hairdresser and the son of a local leader, whose confidence she helps rebuild, and who eventually fall in love.

Although completely inexperienced in TV drama, Gao wrote, directed, shot and produced the serial. As the show was made on a shoe-string investment of 20,000 yuan, Gao and the amateur performers were hard-put to finish the show in just one month. It is to be aired in September.