Access TVB: Behind the scenes at Hong Kong’s top drama studio

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By CGTN's John Goodrich, Zhang Dayu

Walking the streets of 1920s Hong Kong… or is it Shanghai? Uniformed soldiers with rifles poised to fire, sweat dripping from their foreheads, while military jeeps rev their engines nearby.

CGTN Photo‍

CGTN Photo

Suddenly, a yell from the commander.

Time to shoot? Well, kind of.

CGTN Digital’s live stream crew has wandered into the background of Dicky Cheung’s new warlord drama.

So punctuated our behind-the-scenes visit to the vast TVB lot in Kowloon, a two billion HK dollar complex where successors to the shows that made Hong Kong’s biggest TV station famous in the Chinese mainland and beyond have been filmed since 2003.

The Bund and The Return of the Condor Heroes are some of the dramas that made the network’s name in the 1980s, launching the careers of international superstars like Chow Yun-fat and Andy Lau.

Screenshot of The Bund

And now a new generation of original productions are filmed on this 110,000-square-meter facility, with every corner — from a bright restaurant to a shadowy car park — a potential shooting location for hit shows like Heart of Greed and Line Walker.

Screenshot of The Return of the Condor Heroes

Even the offices of the 4,200 workers are used for filming, though one man whose workspace is probably off limits to rom-coms and gangster series is Desmond Chan, the deputy general manager of TVB who is responsible for its overseas operations.

As he guided CGTN Digital from the air-conditioned news building to the heat of Shanghai Street, a permanent set for shooting hundred-year-old Hong Kong and Shanghai, he explained that TVB is about far more than drama.

Movies, music, and news are all part of the set-up. In fact, we were greeted in the lobby by the familiar face of anchor Zou Yue peering down from a screen — TVB’s English-language channel broadcasts CGTN every lunchtime.

Taking a seat outside a newly built mock-up Shanghai mansion, Desmond said that in TVB’s 50th year he was leading a concerted effort to spread the station’s content across the world via an OTT service as well as satellite.

CGTN Photo

Leaving the dapper executive to prepare for the company’s Thursday AGM, we were drawn back in time by the tinkling of piano keys from inside a full-size replica church. Beneath the stained-glass windows, CGTN Digital reporter Dayu was entertaining TVB’s Stephanie Wong at the keyboard.

Stephanie, senior manager in TVB’s corporate and community relations department, helped Dayu down the memory lane, negotiating faux 1920s alleyways and smartphone-twiddling soldiers to explore the set and reminisce about TVB shows like Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the programs he grew up watching in Beijing.

CGTN Photo

Through the dusty streets, passed the newly constructed railway station, and onto the second permanent set — the under-renovation Old China City, spanning nearly 10,000 square meters.

Behind the scenes access at TVB City is rare, so if you’re a fan of TVB drama be sure to check out the live stream to see where your favorite scenes were filmed.

Did you grow up watching TVB? What are your top shows, then and now? Let us know @CGTN on social media or in the comments section.

CGTN Photo

1973km