On the heels of the runway hit, Flowing Like a River 2, Daylight Entertainment's latest TV series, Minning Town, has raked in unexpected popularity, obtaining a stunning score up to 9.4 points out of 10 on the country's most popular review aggregator, Douban.
Set in Xihaigu, the impoverished mountainous area in the southern area of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, the 23-episode TV drama chronicles locals' effort to battle poverty with assistance from prosperous Fujian province in East China from the early 1990s to recent years. In the 1970s, Xihaigu — struggling with a severe shortage of water — was labeled as one of the most uninhabitable areas for human settlement by the United Nations. With relocation projects and a series of economic measures, the area has transformed from a desert to a paradise, exemplifying China's efforts to end poverty.
With a stellar cast, the drama stars actor Huang Xuan, known for blockbusters Youth and Legend of the Demon Cat, as the lead protagonist Ma Defu, a grassroots government official who leads locals in fictional Yongquan Village to conquer poverty in the face of overwhelming odds.
Interestingly, a number of fans say they have fallen for the story and the compelling characters. To showcase their fancy, many fans have dubbed themselves, 'spiritual villagers of Yongquan', because they imagine they also 'live' and 'struggle' in the village like the characters. For most insiders, the popularity of real-life, events-based dramas like the Flowing Like a River franchise and Minning Town has exemplified a trendy progress of the 'zhu xuan lvy' (main melody) works, which have secured a unique status as a special genre in China's film and TV industries with a stable annual output.
For a long time in the past, such films or TV dramas were mostly criticized for a stereotype narrative with a shortage of character arc, or the necessary evolution of the personality. Taking such previous flops as a lesson, producers behind 'zhu xuan lvy' works in recent years have concentrated more on polishing storytelling, developing characters and adding comedic or dramatic elements to increase their appeal to target a wide viewership.
Now, with the overwhelming success of Minning Town, which has stirred tons of posts on China's most popular social platforms, varying from Sina Weibo to Douyin, the genre seems to attract more top studios amid a promising future. 记者：徐帆 Click here for audio and translation of the story
