I don't get the hype. Yes the scenery (place and people) are beautiful. But that's really all there is to it. One can only conclude that like the female lead character, Liu Yifei has basically decided to phone it in with her career. The script is lazily written (much like the premise of the show) and the producers decide to insert the *same* songs in almost every single scene! This is not your typical OST or sound effects that occur at key junctures. The whole show is like an ultralong MTV with songs every 5 mins or so.

The pacing is also unbelievably slow. For the first 10 episodes, you are treated to Hongdou moping around. It is not until well past the halfway point when anyone else knows what she was moping about. And when the romance begins to develop, it does so with suddenness and complete lack of character development. There are also many pointless side stories. While I appreciate well-developed side stories, none of those in this show are remotely interesting and extremely cliched. The lazy young musician with the take-charge cougar. The little brother with the crush on the older sister. Ironically, it is the non-romance stories involving the elderly folks that are far more engaging.

Maybe the reason why this show generated such hype is because of a unique malaise afflicting urbanites in Beijing and Shanghai. As a show, it is very forgettable. Certainly I don't recall any episode or scene where I would even want to rewatch.