Donated programs broaden Revisiting Classics lineup

A total of 190 projects, spanning genres from drama and documentary to animated series, have been donated by 77 production companies and will be made available for free on the Revisiting Classics Channel, organizers announced at a news conference on Thursday at the National Radio and Television Administration, the country's top sector regulator.

Launched as a public welfare broadcaster in early 2024, the channel has so far aired 343 projects, reaching 7,862 cable television households and attracting 359 million online viewers.

One of last year's highlights was a special re-screening of classic shows, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

The event also unveiled the channel's most popular works of the past year, including the 1990 drama Kewang (Yearning), which depicts the transformative 1980s; the 2011 costume drama Empresses in the Palace; and the 1999 Hong Kong epic At the Threshold of an Era.

For the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, the channel will air several of Chinese television's most iconic dramas. Among them is the beloved 1986 classic Journey to the West, which follows the adventures of the Monkey King and two other disciples as they escort the Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang on a perilous pilgrimage.

Actor Zhang Yi and directors Hu Mei and Shen Haofang attended the event as representatives of the major creators behind the classic works, expressing hope that these time-honored productions will resonate anew with contemporary audiences.