Where Dreams Begin (2023)

Why you must watch The Youth Memories or also known as Where Dreams Begin!

"Where Dreams Begin" or "The Youth Memories of Xiao Zhan" is a captivating Chinese drama series that has been aired by CCTV 8, Beijing Satellite TV, and Dragon TV. This review aims to highlight the reasons why you should watch this exceptional drama. Filled with heartfelt performances, an engaging storyline, and relatable characters, this series offers a nostalgic journey that will resonate with audiences of all ages.

1. Compelling Storyline:
"Where Dreams Begin" or "The Youth Memories of Xiao Zhan" presents a compelling storyline that explores themes of dreams, friendship, and love. The plot follows the journey of the protagonist, Xiao Zhan as Xiao Chun Sheng, as he navigates the challenges and triumphs of youth, striving to achieve his dreams. The narrative is rich with emotional depth and provides an insightful reflection on the complexities of life, making it a must-watch for anyone seeking an immersive and thought-provoking viewing experience.

2. Stellar Performances:
The drama boasts an ensemble cast of talented actors, with Xiao Zhan leading the way with his remarkable performance. His portrayal of the protagonist is nuanced and captivating, allowing viewers to fully connect with his character's emotions and experiences. The supporting cast delivers equally outstanding performances, adding depth and authenticity to the story. Each actor brings a unique flair, contributing to the overall excellence of the series.

3. Nostalgic Ambiance:
"Where Dreams Begin" or "The Youth Memories of Xiao Zhan" masterfully captures the essence of nostalgia, transporting viewers back to a bygone era. The attention to detail in recreating the setting, fashion, and cultural references of the time period adds an extra layer of authenticity to the storytelling. Whether you personally lived through that era or not, the series has a way of evoking a sense of wistfulness and longing, creating a truly immersive experience.

4. Relatable Characters:
One of the strengths of "Where Dreams Begin" or "The Youth Memories of Xiao Zhan" lies in its relatable characters. Each character is thoughtfully developed, with their own dreams, aspirations, and struggles. Viewers will find themselves invested in their journeys, as they encounter the universal challenges of youth, such as identity, friendship, and romance. The characters' growth and development throughout the series resonate with the audience, leaving a lasting impression.

5. Production Quality:
The production value of this drama is outstanding. The attention to detail in set design, costumes, and cinematography enhances the visual experience, creating a visually stunning series. The soundtrack further complements the storytelling, immersing viewers in the world of "Where Dreams Begin" or "The Youth Memories of Xiao Zhan."

Conclusion:
"Where Dreams Begin" or "The Youth Memories of Xiao Zhan" is a must-watch drama that beautifully captures the essence of youth, dreams, and nostalgia. With its compelling storyline, stellar performances, relatable characters, and high production quality, this series offers a truly immersive and captivating viewing experience. Whether you are a fan of Chinese dramas or simply looking for a heartfelt and thought-provoking series, "Where Dreams Begin" or "The Youth Memories of Xiao Zhan" will not disappoint. Go and watch it!

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Ideal vs Reality

Finished watching this last Sunday. And definitely one of the best drama that I have watched this year. The story is compact, storyline is engaging and all the characters either they are main or supporting all have their own story to tell. The heart of the story Xiao Chunsheng has really become my ideal conscience throughout the story. The story covers them from where their dreams begin in Beijing, on that ice rink, where all the characters intercept with each other. Though their starts are different, some were enemies, some were friends. But at the end of the series this relationship dynamic change. Those enemies were now friends and once friends might have gone further away from one another. This is what the story tries to unfold, their journey along the way, the decisions that they make, and what results came after it. In this drama there a lots of time where it makes me reflect instead about my own value, be it moral value or just life value. One of the highlights of the drama is our hero Xiao Chunsheng. For me he is not the typical heroic guy who would head-strong himself into things and won. But he actually was faced with a lot of obstacles along his way. When he was paralysed and his supposedly war hero victory were taken by his own bestfriend, and when his bf want to tell the truth to his superior but was prevented by XCS, I actually was puzzled by XCS action. I mean why won't he let his friend say the truth? That he is the war hero? But XCS do that because he knows the dream of being a soldier is no longer his to achieve. So even if he got the title it will be meaningless for a paralysed soldier like him who can't contribute anymore. And when his girlfriend He Hongling chose her own career instead of be with him for his treatment and rehabilitation, although he himself is in a vulnerable state and need his gf by his side, he instead chose to be the one to break up with her so as not to hinder her career (though she actually subtly tries to make him break up with her after he paralysed and she were offered with job promotion, so he kinda become a burden for her career). All these choices they made eventually become the building blocks to their next stage of life. And also the time where a lot of these childhood friends path deviates. The constant fight against ideal and reality, whether you should eventually bow down to reality when times needed you so, or should you insist on your ideal even if it means taking a longer time to achieve your dream and might hurts those precious to you along the way. Xiao Chunsheng always chose to stick to his ideal, and although some I'm not agreed with, but eventually after seeing how succesfull and happy he is in career, love or family later on made me realize he actually made the right choice to him. There's no right or wrong here, either you chose to follow your ideal or reality. As long as you are willing to bear the consequences of your own choice, don't look back and strive forward I think everyone made the right choice. And yeah I love Xiao Chunsheng and Tong Xiaomei relationship in this drama. For me it's hard to come across a relationship so stable like these two. Love and companionship goes a long way down the road. Their mutual love and support for each other touched me. They really are the backbone to one another. Those tight hand grasping and shoulder hugging seems more romantic to me than any kisses. If I have to complain than it's the pacing of the story especially during the second half of the show. Since the story covered many years and time jump within the span of just 18 episodes, the story sometimes felt a bit disjointed and didn't flow smoothly. Had they have enough time for a longer episodes I bet the story would be far more compelling than it's already is now. The rewatch value for me is definitely high. I can rewatch this again and again. And the most are so good too. Whenever I heard it, it felt so nostalgic and I can almost see Xiao Chunsheng riding his bike and the ice skating rink scene in Shicahai where their dreams begin.

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Realistic Youth Drama

It's not an idol drama with fluffy romance, so I think this is not for everybody.
The drama sets in late 70s (Mao era) tells about a bunch of teenage kids from military family background, how they struggled with their life, chasing their dreams and love life. Then Deng era begin, they took the advantage from economic reform and became businessmen that change their life and became prosperous.

Some of them have successful life with happy families and some of them failed, the story ends in early 2000s when an epidemic hits China, I think it's SARS although they only said it's a highly contagious pneumonia.

The acting is really good from all the cast, Xiao Zhan acting has improve a lot, it's a realistic drama with the cast wear minimum make up and they look more human compare to idol dramas where everybody have flawless skin.

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I don't usually watch dramas of this genre but I decided to check it out for the male lead Xiao Zhan after watching him in The Longest Promise. And I stayed because of the storyline and the excellent acting by the actors.

The story follows the life of the male lead, Xiao Chun Seng played by Xiao Zhan and his group of friends from their youth days in the 70s through to the early 2000. It's interesting to watch the characters develop against the changing eras in China. And how each character became who they were in life because of the choices they made in their life journey. The story talks about brotherhood, friendship, selfishness, pride, betrayal, frustrations, growth. And all were done not in an overly dramatic way but in a very realistic manner as how we would have reacted as we make our everyday choices in life. There were no real bad guys. The "bad guys" were more grey than bad, they just became who they were because of what life throws at them. Yet, they were given choices but then, there is human nature too. No one is perfect. I would ask myself, if I were Hong Ling, what would my decision be. Would I be like Hong Ling or would I be like Tong Xiao Mei

The cast was excellent. I loved Xiao Chun Seng for his idealism and dreams and cried with him when all seemed bleak. I loved how gentle yet strong Tong Xiao Mei was. I didn't like Yue Guo Hua for his cowardy, yet I pity him and felt for him at the same time. I hated Hong Ling for her pride and selfishness yet I truly understand why she was who she was and admired her pride at the same time.

Except for the last two episodes which seemed to be a bit of a rush, the drama is a good watch. I would have loved to see them tell us a bit more, do a bit more in depth into the ending. Still a very good watch.

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Some dramas have you hooked from the first episode and this is one of them. This is a drama where everything comes together. The storyline and setting are ambitious and brings one from the 1970s through some 30-40 years and along the way, we see the growth of the characters together with the growth of China. There is a place for each of the character in the story and each character is well developed. The directing and the filming portray what I imagined were the realistic settings in the 70s. Xiao Zhan plays the admirable Xiao Chunsheng who is generous and forgiving to those he considers his friends and family. Li Qin is Tong Xiaomei who is unselfish and gives love unconditionally. You can understand why these two are so suited for each other in the midst of people who get carried away by greed, selfishness and jealousy. Xiao Chunsheng and Tong Xiaomei do not give up hope even when they are betrayed and when misfortune strikes. I only wish that more of their love story was shown instead of the excessive screen time given to the second FL in the earlier episodes. This is truly a story that moves you but it would be difficult to rewatch as some of the stories are heartwrenching.

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A Great Lesson About Friendship & Life

I eventually gave this drama a try because of Xiao Zhan and I also heard that the drama had great ratings in China. It was a bit slow in the first 3 episodes, but it gets a lot more exciting once you get past that part. I don't usually watch dramas that take place in this time period or the Republican time period but it was quite fun to watch unlike what I expected. You learn a lot about what China was like back in the 1970s.

The story was very interesting for the most part but I did start skipping a bit of the other supporting roles' scenes like 3/4 way into the drama. Chen Hong Jun and Ye Guo Hua's scenes near the end were just not as interesting. I won't explain in detail to not spoil the story. I really like how you see how Chun Sheng's relationship with all his buddies changes over time and how each of his buddies changes themselves. To be honest, I didn't like his childhood friends as much as his friends in the military. Duan Lei and Amao were very insightful characters and they were nice to watch. They made a lot of great points through the drama. The different conflict arcs were also interesting, though some were frustrating to watch. However, you can understand why Hong Jun and Guo Hua made the decisions they did. I can't forgive them but I can see what place they are coming from. Chun Sheng is too perfect of a character- too loyal, honest, friendly, and smart. Like the drama said, he really shines without much effort. I think I would find it hard to be his friend although he would be so loyal.

The acting is also great! All supporting roles and main roles did a wonderful job at pulling off their characters. Xiao Zhan really showed me again through Chun Sheng that he is a versatile actor. He really pulled on my heartstrings and I shed quite some tears when he was in his rough time out of the military and recovering. I hope to see Xiao Zhan in more roles like this one. This is the second time I watched Li Qin in a drama and I can also see why she is a top-rated actress. All the supporting roles did great too. I especially loved the actor who played Chun Sheng's dad. His acting was so natural and heartwarming. I loved his scenes with Chun Sheng and Hong Ling.

The love lines between Chun Sheng and Xiao Mei were pretty cute too. I liked how you see that Chun Sheng did not like her in the beginning but over time, they ended up together. It was pretty emotional how supportive Xiao Mei was during the times Chun Sheng needed someone by his side. They were also cute from the beginning. I also can't completely hate on Hong Ling since her dilemma is reasonable and I would have struggled too. There is also a reasonable amount of romantic scenes mixed throughout the drama. As it takes place in 1970s, it was nice that it was not too cheesy and had a moderate amount of smiley warm scenes.

Overall, a great story to teach you about friendship and growth. You just have to ignore all the propaganda scenes since those are quite obvious. The propaganda got stronger towards the end so I just skipped more over it.

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A beautiful lens of the past.

I don't know why the ratings are so low here. However, I enjoyed this drama. It was a beautiful story of love during a time we could only read about or hear stories from our elders.
I don't know what else to say other than that it was truly beautiful. To watch Xiao Chun Sheng face setbacks with family, love and career. Then he manages to get it right somehow in a way that's relatable to viewers, which was remarkably done.

Every side story from the supporting cast was very real and raw. From inferiority complex, betrayal of friends, career struggles, loss of family, and divorce to jealousy and domestic v. These are things that happen in real-life circumstances, and most of us have witnessed or experienced at least one of these things.

I think the writers, cast, crew, and directors deserve a round of applause. They went back in time and captured the beauty in the ugliness that life will throw at us.

The actors did a phenomenal job of betraying their characters. I felt like I knew each character personally. Their moods, characteristics, and personalities came through very clearly. They communicated what was needed to the viewers in my opinion. This entire cast needs a nomination from the best support to the best lead.

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Thoroughly enjoyed this drama with its engaging and flowing storyline covering many years. I would have been happy to see even more episodes filling in the years between. It has such in-depth characters and really shows how people and life experiences can impact on lives. You follow these characters through their good and bad times, successes and mistakes which makes you want to hug them or slap them. Brilliant acting from everyone, but I especially loved Xiao Zhan, Lenox Lu, Zhang Ling Xin and Zhao Xin. Scenery was so beautiful and made me miss Beijing. Missing watching this drama already, so I might go back and start it again!

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A Youthful Story

Story is Good I can Connect to them
When I connect to character then I feel like Watching this drama I and found this very realistic. love the story so much everyone portrayed their character so well. Their chasing for Dreams their setback and then start a fresh new journey. This drama really show friends importance in our life but sometimes you have to rely on yourself bcoz everyone is not going to always good to you. Sometimes you have to made decision even if you don't want. but I think between main lead their is less chemistry. I wish that they give more scene to the main lead and their relationship to grow.
So for me it's 9/10

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Mediocre story but good acting from the cast. To me it is more of brotherhood story than romance

The Youth Memories is A melodrama in the 70s with a group of high school friends. Xiao Chun Sheng and his two buddies Ye Guo Hua and Chen Hong Jun, are children of military families and government workers who grew up in the same courtyard. They share many experiences, like joining the army, taking the gaokao, going out to sea, and starting a business while supporting each other the entire way. They also meet Tong Xiao Mei, a Beijing girl pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. This is an inspirational story of the growth and transformation of ordinary people during the 1970s reform era in China as the country was opening up to the world.

To me, this drama is about brotherhood, where the focus is on the male characters, especially Chúng Sheng, and his relationship with others. The acting of the entire ensemble is good, especially Xiao Zhan, the ML of this drama.

I feel bad for Li Qin, the FL of this drama, but she has less screen time in the first almost 20 episodes than the supporting actress who played Chúng Sheng's first girlfriend. Her character didn't show up much until halfway through the drama. In addition, there are no romantic scenes between the two leads, which is disappointing.

I enjoyed the drama overall but didn't like the script much. I give it a 7.5 rating.

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