Legends from beyond the bar

Spanning more than 20 years and centered on a tavern in Dalian, a new drama series recounts the clientele's tales of struggle through the colonial and wartime eras up to the creation of New China, Xu Fan reports.

In Chinese social circles there is a well-known joke which says that an outsider should never boast that they can drink more than dongbeiren-somebody from one of the three northeastern Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin or Liaoning.

While it's hard to quantify this scientifically, the quip at least suggests that alcohol plays a significant role in the lifestyles of the locals in the region.

For screenwriter Gao Mantang, the drinking culture of Dalian became the inspiration that spawned his latest television drama, The Legendary Tavern.

Starring veteran television actor Chen Baoguo as the protagonist tavern owner, the 46-episode period drama began airing on Beijing Satellite TV and Guangdong Satellite Television on Monday.

Chen, who is known for playing emperors, reveals that the new drama marks his sixth venture with Gao, who has won dozens of awards including two best screenwriter awards at the Flying Apsaras-one of the TV industry's top honors in China.