Offering a degree of nostalgia

For most actresses, controlling their diets is part of their daily routine. Despite also being sensitive to her weight, actress Guan Xiaotong has figured out a "method" to ease her craving for treats.

Revealing that she is prone to be glued to her smartphone during her spare time, her favorite activity is watching internet celebrities livestreaming themselves eating.

"After an exhausting day, watching them helps me feel relaxed," Guan tells China Daily.

Recently, she has tapped into her knowledge of these internet celebrities to portray her latest character, a college student-turned beauty blogger and the protagonist in the 40-episode coming-of-age series Twenty Your Life On.

Also starring young actresses Bu Guanjin, Li Gengxi and Dong Siyi, the series chronicles the colorful life of four college students who live in the same dorm room of a fictional university in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province.

Released on Hunan Satellite TV and iQiyi on July 14, the series dominated last week's TV ratings, obtaining 7.5 points out of 10 on the country's popular review aggregator Douban.

Guan's character is a beautiful, yet slightly arrogant, youngster majoring in tourism management who dreams of fame and riches but is driven to reevaluate her life's priorities after a series of disappointments.

"I was deeply drawn to the script, which is a story full of positive energy," says Guan.

She says she believes the four protagonists will awaken the memories of many viewers' final year in college, as well as their stress and confusion around entering a new world outside the campus.

Debuting as a child star at 4 years old, Guan－a Beijing native born in 1997－achieved recognition for her performance in director Chen Kaige's 2005 fantasy epic The Promise.

Starring in a number of TV shows and movies, such as The Novaland: The Castle in the Sky and To Be A Better Man, Guan is considered to be one of the most popular actresses of her generation.

On Sina Weibo, a barometer for popularity in China, the 23-year-old actress is followed by nearly 31 million fans.

She reveals the new series has expanded her knowledge of the internet celebrity economy, an emerging business which has rapidly expanded in the digital era.

Statistics show that around 710 million people in China are accustomed to purchasing things through online platforms, and a lot of them love to buy products recommended by live-streaming celebrities or influential bloggers, according to a report from China Internet Network Information Center.

"I once thought working as a beauty blogger was easy and interesting, but actually they need to be smart, diligent and persistent. It's quite difficult to be successful in such a fiercely competitive business," says Guan, who consulted with real-life bloggers as a preparation for the drama.

For the director of the series, 37-year-old Li Zhi, who was previously a movie journalist in the internet portal Sohu.com, the show is a way to connect with China's 20-somethings.

Many online say that they resonate with the show's other three protagonists－a hardworking undergraduate eager to have a successful career; a carefree girl who's fascinated with chasing celebrities and eating delicious food and an introverted youngster struggling with her love of video games and her demanding mother.

"Compared to my generation, youngsters nowadays have faster access to useful information and have more opportunities thanks to the development of the internet," says Li.

He recalls that from July to November last year, the crew mainly filmed the series in Shenzhen, before traveling to Beijing to capture some street scenes and Heihe in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province for shooting the parts of the script that are set during winter.

"It was stressful and tiring during filming. Most nights I never managed more than about six hours of sleep, but the effort has paid off," says Li.

Hashtags on discussions about how the TV series reflects the reality of life for many young people have registered more than 310 million views on the microblogging platform, Sina Weibo.

"I hope the TV series acts like a mirror, reflecting the universal worries and confusions of the young people, and helps the audience to examine their true selves," Li says.