The hardscrabble life of Chinese immigrants recruited to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 1880s is the backdrop for CBC’s period love story Iron Road.

Based on the opera of the same name, Iron Road tells the story of a young woman, posing as a boy, who travels from the fireworks factories of Southern China to the burgeoning Canadian railway in British Columbia to chase a dream.

Sun Li (Jade Goddess of Mercy, Fearless) plays the lead, joined by Luke MacFarlane (Brother and Sisters), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Ian Tracey (Intelligence) and Peter O’Toole.

The first China-Canada treaty coproduction in 20 years, the $10-million Iron Road started five weeks of production April 20 at Hengdian Studios, four hours drive from Shanghai. Two weeks of production in Kamloops and Naramata in the B.C. interior begin June 6. About 70% of the spend is in Canada, with the balance paid in China.

It will be cut into a 2 x 120 miniseries for CBC and as an art-house feature for the Chinese market and festival circuit. Canadian David Wu (Snow Queen) directs the script by Raymond Storey (Butterbox Babies).

The project, a coproduction between Mainland Productions of Vancouver and China Film House of Beijing, was developed by Vancouver producer Raymond Massey (The Papal Chase), along with coproducer Anne Tait. Arnie Zipursky, CEO of sales agent Cambium Catalyst International, is a co-executive producer.

Shot mostly in English with some Mandarin, Iron Road is scheduled for delivery in February 2008.