18 | Thursday, November 21, 2019 LIFE CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION

Israel tastes the majesty of the Mogao Grottoes

JERUSALEM — An exhibition centered around the Mogao Left: A scene from the hit series The Mystic Nine, which features Grottoes, a renowned UNESCO actress Zhao Liying and actor William Chan. Above: A still image World Heritage Site in North­ from The Golden Eyes, starring actor Zhang Yixing (center) as the west China’s Gansu province, protagonist. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY kicked off last week at the China Cultural Center in Tel Aviv, Israel. The exhibition, which has been met with fascination by local attendees, includes two parts — the digital Dunhuang exhibition, titled The Pearl of the Silk Road Living in Digitized Eternity and Streaming toward success the Chinese painting exhibition, titled Pilgrimage Dunhuang. Wearing virtual reality glasses, visitors are able to appreciate the A new wave of hen producer Cai Jia excellent dramas as possible, and majesty of the famous caves, was a young child, the read popular review sites like Dou­ sculptures and paintings from domestic drama little “secret” that ban to find out what genres audien­ the Mogao Grottoes, and interact producers are pleased her most was ces want to see. with them. to slip out of bed, sneak into the liv­W Her entry into the industry was Dozens of Chinese paintings picking up ing room and turn on the TV set marked by something of a coinci­ depicting the Mogao Grottoes when her parents were sleeping. dence, since 2015 was the year and their art, created by Gansu awards across Approaching midnight, The Jour­ regarded as a turning point, and one Art Institute, proved to be a star Asia, and raising ney to the West — perhaps the most that reshaped China’s film and TV attraction. repeatedly broadcast drama in the landscape as the nation’s major A specialist from Dunhuang the bar for the history of Chinese television — was internet companies began making Academy gave a lecture about the big draw for her. forays into the traditional entertain­ the site to give the local visitors to Chinese online Curious about how special­effects ment industries. the exhibition a better under­ film industry in were created — like how the lead Han, who was born in the Inner standing of the work and exhib­ character of the Monkey King man­ Mongolia autonomous region in its on show. the process, aged to steer his cloud through the 1980, says she has also witnessed the Nowadays, Dunhuang is a skies — Cai had always harbored a huge change in China’s TV and film famous historical and cultural Xu Fan reports. dream of pursuing a career in televi­ industry. site in China, but it was once an sion production. “The production process has important city along the ancient Now, working as a deputy head of become quite different. In the past, I Silk Road, the bustling trade the Beijing­based studio Linghe could spend two years producing a route linking China, Central Media, the 29­year­old from Jiangxi Left and right: Producers Han Bing (left) and Cai Jia, winners of the single TV series, but the internet Asia, the Middle East and province has fulfilled her ambition best producer awards of the 2nd True Aspiration Awards, an annual backers now require us to work on Europe, said Tao Chen, the The production by producing several popular online event that recognizes young talent, in Beijing on Nov 13. several projects at the same time,” director of the China Cultural series, including The Death Notice says Han. Center in Tel Aviv, at the opening process has franchise, The Mystic Nine, and As online dramas rely on new ceremony of the exhibition. become quite Sand Sea. ing giant Netflix, and also earned Cai says she still clearly remem­ viewers clicking on the very first epi­ Among all of the area’s attrac­ Racking up around 16 billion Han the best producer award for bers the first day that her boss gave sode, streaming site financiers often tions, the Mogao Grottoes is different. In the views online, The Mystic Nine — a online content at the 24th Busan her a ride to the set of Falling Down, make new demands about adding undoubtedly the most prestig­ past, I could spend fantasy series adapted from a best­ International Film Festival. a fantasy series about two young advertising content. ious and globally recognized, selling republic­era novel about a Jointly sponsored by the China women who manipulate time to “It can feel like the work never said Tao, adding that it is known two years tight­knit clan of tomb raiders — Television Drama Production change events. ends,” says Han. especially for its Buddhist producing a single was one of the most­watched Chi­ Industry Association and the Capi­ When she arrived at the studio on At the same time, offering increas­ murals, sculptures and an TV series, but the nese dramas of 2016. tal Radio and TV Program Produc­ the outskirts of Beijing, she felt like a ing interaction with the viewers is a impressive library — as well as Alongside colleague Han Bing, ers Association, the awards were novice when she set eyes on a group growing trend within the industry, as for being one of three great Bud­ internet backers Cai recently won best producer at presented at the Beijing Conference of young actors huddled around the seen in the case of experimental dhist sculptural sites in China. now require us to the 2nd True Aspiration Awards, an Center on Friday. director as he peered into a monitor. online series Smile Time. Gansu is located at the cross­ annual ceremony recognizing Ranging from directors and “I didn’t even realize that I should Produced by Cai, the romantic roads of ancient cultural work on several young talent for their creativity and scriptwriters to producers, the win­ mute my phone until my boss drama about a showbiz industry exchanges between the East and projects at the same dedication. ners were shortlisted from around reminded me. It’s the No 1 rule that newcomer featured 17 different end­ West, as well as the ancient Silk Han’s signature work is The Gold­ 2,000 aspiring industry newcomers you need to obey on a film set,” ings, offering viewers the chance to Road, and the Mogao Grottoes is time.” en Eyes, a 56­episode series about a behind nearly 100 TV dramas, recalls Cai. choose their own finale with the a unique art treasure for China Han Bing, young man who possesses X­ray­like online series and internet movies. But Cai was a quick learner, and click of a mouse. and the whole world to enjoy, producer of online series vision. His special power enables Cai started working in the online she soon developed a system to “It’s an interesting job. When we says Wang Chunsheng, the depu­ him to distinguish authentic antiqui­ drama industry in 2015, the same break down projects into thousands start a new project, it feels like we’re ty director general of the Depart­ ties from fake ones, and he soon finds year that Han quit her job at a tradi­ of deliverables to ensure that every going on a honeymoon vacation,” ment of Culture and Tourism of success dealing in expensive jade — a tional TV drama studio and landed step of the process was finished to says Cai. Gansu Province. risky business where fortunes can be a new job at Linghe Media, a startup deadline. Wang headed a cultural dele­ made or lost overnight. The Golden specializing in series tailored She says the key to making a suc­ Contact the writer at gation comprised of specialists Eyes has been sold to the US stream­ toward online streaming platforms. cessful series is to watch as many [email protected] and artists from the Dunhuang Academy and Gansu Arts Insti­ tute to bring the exhibition to Israeli audiences. The exhibition is expected to China’s changes through reform on documentary bring Gansu and Israel closer together and promote mutual cultural exchanges, says Wang. By XU FAN In one episode, Li Fan and Du “It is a lovely experience and Yingxin — a couple living in Beijing lovely opportunity to visit the Between the 1980s and early ’90s, — recall their wedding ceremony Mogao Grottoes without actually many residents of Shanghai lived in held at a KFC outlet in the city’s having to drive through the small homes, with members of some Qianmen area, the debut store of desert,” says 66­year­old Daniel families all eating and sleeping in the American fast food chain in Bairey of the VR glasses after try­ rooms less than 10 square meters China that opened in 1987. Back ing them with his wife. each. then, Kentucky fried children was a “It is an incredible cultural In a span of five years, photogra­ “foreign delicacy”, which is why heritage and a tremendous trea­ pher Zhou Ming visited more than some guests at the wedding were sure of Buddhist knowledge,” 1,000 such families, capturing both curious about the food, according says Bairey, who has visited Chi­ their predicament and desire to to the couple. na twice. He adds he has a great strive for a bit more comfort. Stories about the earliest foreign interest in Chinese culture and Zhou’s footprints are shown in a enterprises to come to China also would like to know more. 20­episode documentary series, include Coca­Cola’s return and Jap­ The exhibition was sponsored titled Witness the Changing China anese TV brand Furi’s joint venture by the Department of Culture 1949­2019, which was recently Left: A poster of documentary series Witness the Changing China launched with a domestic partner. and Tourism of Gansu Province released on Chinese streaming plat­ 1949­2019. Above: A scene in the documentary shows the popularity In an effort to re­create the pivot­ and the China Cultural Center in The path that China form Youku. of KFC in the Qianmen area of Beijing, the first outlet of the American al moments in history, the show Tel Aviv, and organized by the To mark the 70th anniversary of fast food chain to open in China in 1987. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY features the birth of China’s first Dunhuang Academy and Gansu has walked through the founding of the People’s Repub­ share on its stock market, the estab­ Arts Institute. over the past seven lic of China, the series’ production space for a person in China has risen what should the country do to main­ lishment of the country’s first joint The Mogao Grottoes is home crew interviewed nearly 200 people from less than 4 square meters in tain the momentum,” says Wu Xiao­ venture automobile factory, the to more than 2,000 colored decades is unique and dives into a wide range of fields the 1980s to around 40 square bo, a finance writer, on the screen. unprecedented impact of the inter­ sculptures and 45,000 square and different ... It to examine China’s transformation. meters now. And now the daily aver­ At the beginning of each episode, net and the ensuing tide of start­ meters of murals, spread across Shooting began in 2017, and it took age of the country’s exports and he gives a synopsis. Wu acts as an ups. 735 caves. compels us to think the crew over a year to travel across imports are worth some $12 billion. anchor for the documentary, which “We asked the crew to interview Nowadays, the site is an what should the the country to search for historical More than 100 million packages are is adapted from two of his best­sell­ people who were involved in these important tourist attraction and country do to footage and people willing to share delivered and over 70,000 cars are ing books about the rise of China. events as much as possible, and to the subject of archaeological their stories, the producers say. produced every day. The series also provides a nostal­ reflect the big era through interest­ studies. It was inscribed on the maintain the Using a string of numbers, the “The path that China has walked gic touch when it revisits the early ing personal stories,” says Zhang UNESCO list of World Heritage momentum.” documentary shows the audience a through over the past seven decades years after China started the process Wei, director of the documentary Sites in 1987. promising future. is unique and different from any in of reform and opening­up in late center of Youku, a subsidiary of the Wu Xiaobo, writer For instance, the average living the world. It compels us to think 1978. Alibaba Group. XINHUA