Beijing-based Hairun Movies & TV Production Co Ltd and Chongqing TV station announced last week that shooting of the 20-part TV drama was underway.

The story is set in Chongqing in southwest China. It is about how several underground members of the Communist Party of China fought secret agents of the Kuomintang in the autumn of 1949, the eve of the liberation of Chongqing.

The Embroidered Shoes was originally a folk tale told in the late 1960s when book publishing came to a halt.

The story was quite popular, passing by word of mouth between people. The manuscripts were repeatedly copied by hand with more than 20 versions in circulation.

Hairun Movies & TV Production Co Ltd is one of the most influential TV production companies in China. Over several years, it has produced many popular TV series such as Yongbu mingmu (Never Close the Eyes).

The Embroidered Shoes is Hairun's first production this year. The company is confident that it will be a hit, since the original novel is so popular.

Director Xu Qingdong has directed many police TV dramas.

He said the play of the TV serial will be more interesting than the original novel.

"We will present the story with enough freshness to attract viewers. But we will be careful that it will not stray too far from the original," said Xu.

The story was adapted into a movie 20 years ago -- Wudu mangmang (The City of Fog). This is a nickname of Chongqing, which lies on the foggy mountains along the Yangtze River.

Coincidentally, Qian Yongfu, who had played a high ranking Kuomintang official in the film, will play the same role in the TV version this time around.

(China Daily January 27, 2003)