Personal portrayals of superstars

Agronomist Yuan Longping received the Medal of the Republic, the highest state honor, from President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept 29,2019.

Two days later, the country celebrated the 70th anniversary of its founding with a grand parade, which was one of the most anticipated events among Chinese people.

But Yuan didn't stay in the capital to watch the parade. Instead, he quickly returned to Hunan province's capital, Changsha, on the night he received the award.

The documentary series, My Legacy, which was released on July 6, follows Yuan to unravel the "mystery" as to why.

The answer is that the 90-year-old scientist was eager to inspect his experimental crops.

The series also documents the challenges and achievements of seven other public figures－respectively, composer Chen Qigang; actress Shu Qi; actor Wang Jingchun; pop idol Kris Wu; artist Zhang Xiaogang; four-time Olympic table tennis champion Deng Yaping; and Chinese UFC champion Zhang Weili.

It explores various facets of our era through examining the lives of icons from different fields, the producers say.

Yuan was the most difficult to get to agree.

"We had spent a long time persuading Yuan," producer Lin Jingjing recalls.

"He's very busy. So, we needed to follow his schedule and adjust our script with all the unpredictable changes."

"The father of hybrid rice" has devoted his life to the research, application and popularization of hybrid-rice technology.

His greatest achievement enabled China to feed nearly a fifth of the global population with less than 9 percent of the world's arable land.

China is the world's largest rice producer, and the major staple for over 60 percent of Chinese is the "protagonist" that has dominated Yuan's life for nearly seven decades.

The camera crew couldn't find Yuan when they were set for the first shoot with him.

Fortunately, they stumbled upon Yuan when they came to a field to film local farmers transplanting rice seedlings.

"It was only a few days from the 2019 Lunar New Year, but he still insisted on checking the rice without informing any of his assistants," Lin says.

"You can see in his face how much he cares about it."

The crew traveled with Yuan for over half a year to catch some rarely seen moments for the 40-minute episode.

The footage reveals Yuan is not only a globally celebrated agriculture expert but also a romantic husband and a caring grandfather.

In the opening scenes of the first episode, which is devoted to Yuan, his three granddaughters recall stories about their grandfather and say that he's most concerned with their English and math studies.

The grandkids recall that when Yuan traveled to Hong Kong with his family, he tried to buy his wife a new watch but didn't because it was too expensive, and he fed his wife a hawthorn candy.

"Yuan's children and grandchildren usually gather for dinners at his home during weekends and holidays," says Lai Zhangping, another director, who was in charge of the episode.

"The three girls were a bit shy at first. But they soon relaxed and giggled sometimes while recalling the interesting moments with their grandfather. You can really sense the family's affection and connection."

The director was particularly impressed by a moment during Yuan's 90th birthday celebration, which was attended by hundreds of people.

Yuan cut the first piece of cake and immediately gave his wife the first bite.

Despite his hectic schedule, Yuan has developed an "exercise program" to train his brain.

He plays mahjong with friends for an hour at 8 pm every evening. And like ordinary Chinese, he laughs when he wins and doesn't hide his disappointment when he loses.

Executive producer Zhu Lingqing says the documentary adopts a restrained, bystander-style perspective to document the lesser-known sides of those celebrities, producing a truly human touch.

Some segments reveal how vulnerable and sensitive these celebrities are outside of the limelight.

Shu Qi, who won best actress at the 10th Asian Film Awards for the martial arts arthouse film, The Assassin, recalls one of the darkest chapters of her life, when she ran away from home as a teenager.

Audiences can see the star trying to shake off these unpleasant childhood memories, including by writing the film script, The Girl, which reflects a young woman's loneliness and suffering.

Movie fans may be surprised to discover that Wang Jingchun, who won best actor at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival for So Long, My Son, is a fashionable gourmet with a passion for reading.

"Wang reads books every day and writes book reports twice a week. I believe that helps him vividly portray different characters on film and TV," says Yang Yueqiang, director of the episode about Wang.

Lin depicts Kris Wu, who has nearly 51 million followers on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo, as a "workaholic".

Lin cites an instance in which Wu sent a barrage of WeChat messages at 2 am to his audio engineer to make tiny revisions to his recording.

Lin says the star clearly understands the rapid changes in showbiz circles, and has been working hard to achieve breakthroughs amid great stress.

"All the celebrities have a unique influence in their own fields, but they're also affected and reshaped by the era," says Jin Hui, director of the production company, Haoyu Zhishi Studio of Tencent News.

"The shooting allowed us to delve deep into (the celebrities') hearts. You see they are, in some respects, like most of us. They face their own struggles and confusions, which resonates with all of us."