In collaboration with the Hakka Affairs Council (HAC), Public Television Service Foundations premiered the period drama "Gold Leaf (茶金)," which recreates the daily life of Taiwan’s largest tea company in the 1950s as it stepped into the international market, on Nov. 13.
The drama depicts the story of a Hakka daughter who supports the family business by herself. The film crew chose the Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park as the filming location for the office of the tea company’s headquarters, the tea examination room, and parts of the tea factory as shown in the drama.
The first two episodes of "Gold Leaf" reached more than 640,000 people, and successfully introduced this little-known story of a tea tycoon who earned a fortune in Taiwan to the audience.
The actor Joseph Hsia (夏靖庭) noted that since the character Zhang Sheng-wen and his son Zhang Fu-ji, the chairman of the tea company, suffer from a lot of family pressure, opium is used to escape the pain. Joseph Hsia appeared in the drama with very long nails on his left hand, which was praised by netizens for a high level of detail.
Producer Tang Sheng-rong (湯昇榮) pointed it took one month to reproduce the important scenes such as the office and the tea examination room, and spent three weeks shooting the drama. He expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Culture for providing the cultural space.
Actor James Wen (温升豪) recalled the filming process and the special kindness of the people in Hualien. A local diner would add extra food for the film crew every day, allowing them to have a taste of the local cuisine during the three weeks of filming. Actor Cindy Lien (連俞涵) noted that the filming location resembles the era portrayed in the drama. During the filmmaking process, one is able to feel the pressure placed on the female protagonist while she supports her family business.