Father and son explore family across changing decades

Spring Festival, which just concluded, remains China's most important season of reunion, when families travel long distances — sometimes across borders — simply to sit together at one table.

Yet, the holiday is also a moment when generational values meet, rub against one another, and occasionally clash.

During this period, CCTV-1 premiered a new prime-time drama, The Blossoming Years, co-directed by filmmakers from different generations: Liu Jiacheng and his son Liu Yang. The drama is also aired on the online video platform Mango TV.

Spanning 40 episodes, the series follows a blended family across three decades, tracing shifting relationships, ambitions and everyday struggles.

Released during the reunion season, it invites viewers of varying ages to watch together and discover emotional connections that resonate differently for each.

The story opens in 1978 with a sweeping view of a machinery factory complex in a northern Chinese city, its tall smokestacks rising against the sky.

The camera then zooms in on the factory's residential compound, a cluster of red-brick homes, and enters a modest room. There, Zhuang Xianjin, a skilled worker at the factory, played by actor Tian Yu, knits a sweater, while his eldest daughter Zhuang Haohao, portrayed by Chen Haoyu, snaps green beans beside him.

"That residential compound is the emotional core of our series," says Liu Jiacheng.

"It was adapted from a real neighborhood built in the 1980s. There, people step outside their doors and share public bathrooms and communal sinks. Such proximity naturally produces warmth and conflict, tension and tenderness."

At its center are Zhuang Xianjin, a widowed father of three, and Su Xiaoman, played by A-lister Mei Ting, a single mother of two, whose relationship brings their households together.

The drama explores how the blended family members navigate their differences, support one another, and journey together through decades marked by setbacks, change and quiet resilience.

"The series authentically portrays the process of how individuals and families come together and gradually smooth out their differences. It is because of this love and care for one another that the family becomes a source of strength, a unit that can hold things together and support its members," says Chen.

"Ultimately, the story hopes to offer viewers the strength to keep going in their own lives. No matter what challenges arise, every obstacle can be faced and overcome, one step at a time."

The series also follows the journeys of the five children and their peers against the backdrop of China's reform and opening-up in the 1980s.

Some seek advancement inside the machinery factory, others reshape their futures through the national college entrance exam and several chase entrepreneurial ambitions.

Director Liu Jiacheng emphasizes that although the narrative avoids extreme tragedy, each character confronts personal obstacles.

"I think the story can inspire young people today," he says.

"The challenges they face now are similar to those encountered in the past. What truly matters is how they overcome these obstacles and move forward."

In Liu Jiacheng's view, the period portrayed fostered values worth preserving, including gratitude, contentment and faith in collective support.

"Every stage of life has its pains, and every stage has its joys. The family is a uniquely Chinese extension of love. The warmth of a family can overcome many hardships. That's why I believe this drama can give people the strength to keep moving forward," he says.

Speaking of the intergenerational conflicts that can arise during family reunions, Liu Jiacheng candidly admits that such tensions also exist between him and his son, particularly when it comes to their artistic expressions and narrative approaches in directing.

"Parents need to learn to let go and resist the urge to control or restrict their children, allowing younger people to explore, fail, and develop independence. They have their own paths to follow in life. Rather than trying to shield them from making mistakes, it's better to let them experience and grow on their own. They might even do better than we did," he says.

"At the same time, younger generations should also be more patient with their elders and understand that parental guidance comes from a place of love.

"The greatest love is mutual respect."