After a long hiatus from K and C dramas, I recently found myself watching the popular Fireworks of My Heart, a Chinese drama top-billed by actors Yang Yang and Wang Churan. The plot runs around the love story Song Yan (Yang Yang) and Xu Qin (Wang Churan) trapped in a class and social status war which is a classic twist in almost every love story available on earth. The story circled around the two lovers life as a fireman and an ER resident doctor. Imagine having to watch it on the small screen of my dilapidated and jurassic model of POCO 3 phone since its only available on Bilibili and not on HBO and Netflix where I can watch it on a wider screen. Each of the 40 episodes runs around 44 minutes and I managed to finish it in three days.

This is not a review. Let this be more of a sharing of my personal experience while being drowned by the intensity, drama, fun and most importantly the propaganda which are evident in every episode. I must admit, there were several instances when I have become a bit emotional after seeing certain scenes. Who will deny experiencing a sudden pounding of the heart as Xu Qin cries loud talking to Song Yan’s supervisor who won’t allow her to go down the crumpled building where the wounded fireman was trapped? The supervisor told her that he cannot allow to risk another life under the piled debris of the building. Xu Qin cut him saying “He is my life!” in front of all the firemen around. With the West Philippine Sea debacle at the background of my mind and feeling a certain degree of anger against China, I can’t help myself but replay and replay the scene and admire the creativity of the screenplay writer.

Fast-forward episode 37 where the rich brother of Xu Qin was framed for rape of the dorm mate of So Yan’s sister and only her has the video evidence that could prove the innocence of the doctor’s brother, I found myself smiling at the wit of the gripping scene when the younger sister of the fireman managed to negotiate Xu Qin’s parents to personally get the video evidence from her and demanded the mother of Xu Qin to kneel in front of her noting that her father was made to kneel in front of the mother a long time ago to ask for her help on the situation of So Yan’s father. The fireman’s father used to work at the construction business of Xu Qin’s parents but was illegally dismissed for leading the workers to protest against the bad labor practices of the company.

The whole 40 episodes is full of symbols and objects that were clearly sewn and knitted as each scene and episode progressed. Wang Churan is a natural actress who was able to deliver perfect justice to the character of Xu Qin. Yang Yang may have some flaws in his personification of So Yan given his awkward acting but in its entirety, I must say that after Here We Meet Again, Fireworks of My Heart is an ace.

On the propaganda side however, I admit this is where the Philippines and other countries must learn from China. The drama has successfully painted a positive image on the role of Chinese fire fighters and has shown how discipled they are in doing their job. Where Filipino firefighters are sleeping on bunks that are comparable to the miserable pens of pigs, Chinese firemen are well provided with air-conditioned and clean quarters. They are well-equipped and are even provided with sports facilities. I mean look at the situation of our firefighters in Iloilo. Even if not all firemen’s headquarters in China are the same as that shown in the series, propaganda wise, we lag behind by several miles. Even in the projection of their police detention cells, the series was able to show the world that in China they value the welfare of the people.

I have the impression that the series has the support of the Chinese communist government. While story-wise I am impressed of the whole production team, I am hands-down as to how they manage to integrate PR and propaganda in it knowing that it will reach the households around the world. Mind you, on the lighter side, I am now interested to visit China and who knows I will have the chance to hold the hand of Wang Churan.