The Way We Were (Chinese: 16個夏天; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Cha̍p-la̍k Ê Hā-thiⁿ), also known as 16 Summers, is a 2014 Taiwanese romance drama produced by Ruby Lin and Lisa Tan[1] and directed by Fu-Hsiang Hsu (許富翔; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khó͘ Hù-siông).

It stars Lin, Weber Yang, Ann Hsu, Melvin Sia and Jason Tsou (鄒承恩; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chau Sêng-un) as five friends who first met in college in late-1990s Taipei.

It is set against major events that occurred in Taiwan during the 16 summers, such as the 729 blackout, 921 earthquake, SARS and the Financial crisis of 2007–08.

However, broader events intervene in their romance: during the historic 1999 Jiji earthquake in Taiwan, Jia Ni's friend Jun-Jie Wang (Melvin Sia) becomes crippled in one leg.

In addition, every episode begins with a short message from a celebrity friend of Lin's on the topic of "farewell", including Kevin Tsai (ep.1), Zhang Ziyi (ep.2), Mark Chao (ep.3), Peter Ho (ep.4), Vivian Hsu (ep.5), Jerry Yan (ep.6), Huang Xiaoming (ep.7), Tony Yang (ep.8), David Tao (ep.9), Patty Hou (ep.10), Huang Bo (ep.11), Shu Qi (ep.12), Cecilia Cheung (ep.13), Richie Jen (ep.14), Rainie Yang (ep.15), and Ethan Juan (ep.16).

[19] Lan Zu-wei, chairman of the 50th Golden Bell Awards jury and film critic, said “The Way We Were” is an outstanding production on the strength of its complete storyline and high artistic and commercial values.

[24] It was chosen by the ministry following a strict screening process and will be the second Taiwanese TV series to be aired in Latin America.