Moving mountains

Environmental protection is another focus of the drama. As a water source region of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, Xichuan county provides water for more than 20 cities in North China, including Beijing, Tianjin and cities in Henan and Hebei provinces, and boasts a good natural environment.

"As we show in the drama, the battle between environmental protection and economic development has always been staged at the grassroots level. For example, in one story arc, rubbish is getting dumped in rose valley, a famous natural attraction in the village where many roses grow. The act leads to a deterioration in the environment and villagers falling sick as a result, Bai reports it to the necessary departments of the government and gets the dumping stopped," says Gao.

"I want to show a model of rural revitalization and protecting the environment is an important part of that," he adds. "I hope our work can draw people's attention to rural development, which may encourage them to contribute more to that development in future."

Contact the writer at wangru1@chinadaily.com.cn