Reframing the classics

A new CCTV variety show is restating well-known revolutionary dramas and films to attract younger viewers unfamiliar with the stories of the past, Wang Kaihao reports.

A vast swathe of literary and cinematic classics have been created over the last seven decades of New China's history, although time may have yellowed many of the pages and tarnished much of the celluloid.

Yet in this booming digital era, as people's tastes in entertainment are becoming diverse, how do you tell these old stories to a new generation of viewers in an engaging way? One variety show produced by China Central Television might just have a few ideas.