Popular TV drama turns spotlight on preservation of Shanghai dialect

A long-awaited television series, which was released in both Mandarin and the Shanghai dialect in late December, has sparked discussions among residents, online viewers and experts over the preservation and inheritance of the declining Shanghai dialect.

Adapted from writer Jin Yucheng's award-winning novel, Fan Hua (Blossoms), the TV series Blossoms Shanghai takes audiences back to Shanghai in the 1990s, when everybody looked forward to opportunities in the new century.

The plot follows the rise of the protagonist A Bao, played by actor Hu Ge, an ambitious young man who seizes the opportunities of the early stock market to become a millionaire.