Ordinary heroes on the small screen

"Most chose to forfeit their pay as a salute to the heroes who fought the epidemic on the ground. Most of our crew members only slept a few hours a night to ensure filming could be finished by the deadline."

Since the main characters wear masks and protective outfits in most scenes, the actors had to express their joy and sorrow using their eyes. Special cameras tailored for close-up scenes capture their facial expressions in some shots, Ju adds.

To make it convincing from the medical perspective, the crew also got support from several hospitals, such as receiving permission to use some of their wards and inviting doctors to serve as consultants for hospital scenes.

"We requested guidance in all the aspects, from injections to first aid. Our cast and crew also watched a lot of video clips to immerse ourselves in the situation," Ju recalls.

Ju has worked in China's television industry for over 20 years. He led the directors' team and helmed three of the seven stories.

"Every story has its own tone," he says.

For instance, the first episode－about a Beijing military hospital's doctor, who bids farewell to her family on the eve of Spring Festival to help in Wuhan－is told with an anxious pitch, reflecting the collective emotions in the outbreak's earliest days.