TV series on poverty alleviation efforts receives acclaim

Nestled in the southernmost mountains in Zhangjiajie, Central China's Hunan province, Mudixi village is a picturesque paradise with the lush woods, clean streams and distinctive stilted houses built by local ethnic Miao people.

But the village was not well-known until A Land So Rich in Beauty -- a popular TV series which recently ended its first run on Hunan Satellite TV and the streaming Mango TV service -- made it an online sensation.

With the major shooting taking place in the village, the 33-episode drama has raised its profile, bringing it a tourism revenue totaling more than 30 million yuan ($4.61 million), said the producers at a recent seminar held in Beijing.

The drama starring stars Luo Jin and Yuan Shanhan has also been released overseas via the international broadcasting network of Hunan Satellite TV, making it a window to help foreigners to know more about China's effort to get rid of poverty, said Ding Cheng, deputy head of Hunan Broadcasting System, the parent company of Hunan Satellite TV.

Receiving critical praise at home, the drama has so far accumulated 10 billion clicks online and obtained 7.8 points out of 10 on the popular review site Douban.

Scriptwriter Wang Chenggang, a former veteran journalist, said the show is inspired by true stories of Hunan, a province which saw 56,000 grassroots cadres consisting up of 12,000 teams dispatched to far-flung areas to battle poverty.

"When we trekked into the mountains to conduct interviews, I was surprised to see that many of the cadres are born in 1980s or 1990s. It made me realize the drama could be more relatable to young audience if the protagonists are set as young people," said Wang.

Gao Changli, director general of the TV series department with National Radio and Television Administration, said the series deeply reflects the "miracle" of China's fight against poverty.

"One of the biggest social values created by the drama is that it has seized attention of youngsters, making it possible to encourage more young people to return to their hometowns to help develop local economies," added Gao.