Charge of the light brigade

As digging from the top may cause a new collapse, the script was revised, eventually showing several rescuers crawling through a crack to reach the survivors, as well as inserting support beams to create more space for the trapped people, and carefully transporting them out with the assistance of a doctor.

Starring actor Luo Yunxi as an elite lawyer, and actress Wu Qian as a surgeon, the TV series begins with their first encounter in an unusual situation: The two protagonists become inadvertently involved in the rescue of an injured family after a highway car crash. With deeper understanding of each other, they become more interested in civilian emergency response work, growing to become experienced volunteers devoted to putting their life on the line to rescue others.

Currently, the online series is also being distributed overseas and has proved popular with foreign viewers, exemplified by its rating of 8.0 points out of 10 on MyDramaList, a fan-aggregated review site for Asian dramas and movies.

The project was inspired by the moment when producer Jiang Xiabo read a friend's WeChat update, which expressed an appreciation to Blue Sky Rescue volunteers for their help in finding a lost elderly relative.

"Before that, I hadn't heard much about the civilian rescue organization, so I was curious to know more about their stories and started to contact them for interviews in 2017," recalls Jiang.

Traveling to multiple provinces, including Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Jiang and her fellow creators heard heartwarming stories from operatives of Blue Sky Rescue, which currently has around 200,000 registered members across the country.

"Most volunteers told us that they decided to join the rescue organization after they witnessed or received selfless and timely help themselves at disaster-hit sites," says Jiang.

During the interviews, Jiang was impressed to hear of rescuers receiving special gifts from those expressing their appreciation.