TV program looks at Chinese students abroad

With the rising number of Chinese students pursuing education abroad, an upcoming television series aims to reflect their struggles in unfamiliar lands.

The Way They Were, co-penned by veteran writers Gao Xuan and Ren Baoru, fictionalizes a coming-of-age story of several Chinese youngsters who graduate from prestigious Ivy League colleges but see their friendship face serious challenges in society.

As early as 2000, the scriptwriter duo toured to the United States to interview a number of Chinese students. Their real-life stories of problems caused by language barriers and cultural clashes have inspired the script.

"We believe the best television sequences are rooted from real-life stories, so we wished to know how the Chinese students study and live in foreign countries," Gao said in a recent interview with Chinese reporters.

Director Liu Jiang, famous for popular TV dramas like Beautiful Daughter-in-Law (2010) and Let's Get Married (2013), revealed the series was shot in the United States, Cambodia and several Chinese cities, such as Tianjin, Beijing and Shijiazhuang in Hebei province.

"The filming in New York and Las Vegas took around two months. It cost a lot but it's worth it. Audiences will see the campuses of some of the world's top colleges in the series," he said.

But the 49-year-old director says it's more than a production about Chinese students who study abroad.

"We hope to reflect young elites' sense of duty and their values in modern China," he said.

The 50-episode series is set to air on Beijing Satellite TV and the Shanghai-based Dragon TV, as well as two video streaming sites Youku and iQiyi in May, but the premiere date has yet to be decided.

Led by Tang Yan and Luo Jin, two A-list television stars, the cast also includes veterans Wang Zhiwen and Zhang Kaili.