Garden of dreams – A visit to Dream of the Red Chamber’s filming locations

By Zhang Dongya

Cao Xueqin’s Dream of the Red Chamber, published in the 18th century, is often cited as the country’s greatest novel. A tale of ill-fated love and the decline of a powerful family during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the story has been adapted into theater, film and television, with the 1987 TV series regarded as “a classic” and “the best” adaptation.

A new TV version of the masterpiece recently began broadcasting on provincial stations, starting another “Red Chamber” craze and leading some fans to revisit the shooting location of the 1987 series and probe sites used in the new version.

Jia Baoyu (left) and Lin Daiyu in the 1987 TV series

Garden built for TV

After Dream of the Red Chamber was released in 1791, many readers dreamt of visiting Daguanyuan, or Grand View Garden, where most of the narrative unfolded. Readers tried to find the “real garden,” using clues from the book, forgetting it is fiction.

In later years, the novel was adapted into fim and theater, from Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera to other local operas. When Beijing executives decided to remake the story for TV in the mid-’80s, they chose to create the Grand View Garden first.