School of thought

New generations

The first episode starts by showing Zhou's argument with his teacher about why students are not allowed to wipe their sweat during military training in the middle school.

The argument is a rare scene in most Chinese schools, where students are usually obedient, but at Beijing National Day School, such argument is common. The students even set up a council to negotiate with teachers and influence the school community.

"When I first met these students, who were born in late 1990s, I was shocked by their confidence and critical thinking," Zhang says, adding that it is a different generation from hers.

Born in 1986, the director graduated from Tsinghua University's School of Journalism and Communication in 2009.

"Understanding them can help us better deal with the generations born in the three decades after, because the questions and difficulties that they may face are likely to be similar," Zhang says.

Take Zhou, for example. During his senior middle school years, the straight-A student couldn't get a girlfriend.

Another thing that bothered him was what major to study in college－although he preferred history, his father insisted on finance. He faced a dilemma as many of his peers did－either to follow his heart or to seek for a stable career path.