Online reality show takes six celebrities on a road far from stardom, Xing Wen reports.
Six entertainers- cross-talk performer Yue Yunpeng, actor Chen Feiyu, singer Huang Zitao, and actors Lin Gengxin, Zhang Ruoyun and Wang Yanlin－experience the life of ordinary workers on The New Journey. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The classic novel Journey to the West is beloved by generations of Chinese readers. Based on the pilgrimage of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang to India in the 7th century, the novel by Wu Cheng'en in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) gives a detailed and imaginative description of how Xuanzang and his apprentices overcome innumerable hardships throughout the journey.
For Yan Min, a scriptwriter and reality show director, it's the most influential novel among readers of all age groups in China.
The reality show has displayed the lives of people from multiple social classes and let us notice ordinary people’s passion for their dreams.
Yin Hong, vice-chairman of China Literature and Art Critics Association
"It uses mythology to give approachable descriptions of the social customs and the public code of conduct at that time," he says, adding that the novel brings readers closer to vivid stories of grassroots life back then.
The director, known for his ability to create hit reality shows, decided to pay tribute to the novel and interpret it through doing what he is good at.
Many of his previous works, such as the talent shows Rap for Youth and Theater for Living, have won more than 9 points out of 10 on the review platform Douban.
His capability to turn entertainment into expressive and thought-provoking shows is widely recognized by viewers.
This time, he has directed a new reality show, a bold interpretation of the world in Journey to the West, by which he aims to enable viewers to see how individuals at the grassroots manage to make a living in the country.
Six entertainers- cross-talk performer Yue Yunpeng, actor Chen Feiyu, singer Huang Zitao, and actors Lin Gengxin, Zhang Ruoyun and Wang Yanlin－experience the life of ordinary workers on The New Journey. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The online reality show, titled The New Journey, has invited celebrities, namely, pop star Huang Zitao, cross-talk performer Yue Yunpeng, as well as actors Zhang Ruoyun, Wang Yanlin, Lin Gengxin and Chen Feiyu, to travel from the east to the west in southern China, enabling the audience to follow the camera to see the customs, cultures and lives of people in different places. The show has been aired on the streaming platform Tencent Video since last month.
Their route passes through Guangdong province, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Hainan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces.
Throughout the journey, they have to overcome various hardships and get to think about the true meaning of life.
Yan says the country's great advancement in the past few decades is owed to the hard work of numerous ordinary people, and he hopes that the reality show can more or less present the daily lives of people that are usually not noticed by the public.
Six entertainers- cross-talk performer Yue Yunpeng, actor Chen Feiyu, singer Huang Zitao, and actors Lin Gengxin, Zhang Ruoyun and Wang Yanlin－experience the life of ordinary workers on The New Journey. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Speaking of the reason why the six celebrities have been chosen by the show to take the adventure, Yan says all are performers in their 20s or 30s, who have the potential to grow to be the nucleus of the country's performing arts industry.
"Compared to the elder generations, the younger performers, who have their lives going along nicely, are more likely to lack the opportunity to experience and to live a life with all the ups and downs," Yan says. "I hope we can create a space in the show where they can observe and experience the aspects of life they're not familiar with."
As the show's second episode portrayed, before the six men embarked on the journey, they went to Shenzhen in Guangdong where they had to earn travel expenses by doing the work of property agents, assembly-line workers, security guards, demolition workers, as well as deliverymen who have to load and unload trucks manually.
For instance, Huang and Chen sat by the roadside before daybreak with other migrant workers, waiting for employers who come to find part-timers to do physical jobs. A van came to a halt near them, from which a man got off and shouted, "Two hundred yuan ($31) for eight hours to dismantle a stage in Shekou port area."
Six entertainers- cross-talk performer Yue Yunpeng, actor Chen Feiyu, singer Huang Zitao, and actors Lin Gengxin, Zhang Ruoyun and Wang Yanlin－experience the life of ordinary workers on The New Journey. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Getting to know that the wage was pretty good for part-time labor work in Shenzhen, Huang and Chen jumped into the van with 10 other workers.
Separately, after finishing the day's exhausting work of unloading parcels for a logistic warehouse that is located far away from Shenzhen's downtown area, Lin and Wang felt starved.
To save money, they went to a grocery store to buy two bowls of instant noodles for dinner and later rode rental bikes for 30 kilometers to get back to their temporary accommodation－a shabby dorm for which each person paid 15 yuan a night. There, they lived with other part-timers who displayed tenacity when facing arduous work.
"The reality show has displayed the lives of people from multiple social classes and let us notice ordinary people's passion for their dreams," comments Yin Hong, vice-chairman of the China Literature and Art Critics Association.
Gao Guiwu, a professor with the school of journalism and communication in Renmin University of China, says the reality show is good at grasping enlightenment and creative ideas in traditional culture and forming profound insights into real life, which might inspire China's reality show production in the future.
Contact the writer at xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn
