No guts, no glory

Commando attacks, overseas peacekeeping and fighting terrorists. These dangerous military missions were the main daily topics of conversation between director Xu Jizhou and his actors during the casting process of Glory of Special Forces.

The 45-episode TV series－which recently concluded its first run on Zhejiang Satellite TV and Dragon TV, among others－h(huán)as enjoyed huge popularity, exemplified by reaching nearly 2 billion accumulated views on the streaming site Tencent Video.

Also distributed overseas, the series has been broadcast in more than 10 countries and regions, including South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and North America.

Adapted from a popular online novel, the series recounts the story of Yan Poyue, an ambitious young man born into a military family, who dreams of becoming the best special forces soldier. Rebellious and aggressive, but clearly talented, Yan, played by actor Yang Yang, is initially an outcast among his fellow team members. Encountering a string of setbacks, the protagonist gradually transforms into a qualified elite member of the People's Armed Police Force who, alongside his comrades, tackles a drug ring at China's border.

A veteran who has worked in China's television industry for more than two decades, Xu developed an interest in helming the TV series－retelling the larger-than-life stories about the special units of the People's Armed Police Force－in late 2017.

"The financial environment for the domestic film and TV industry was prosperous back then. I was told that the project would have the resources to allow me to shoot a TV series in a cinematic way," recalls Xu.

Compared to a TV series, a movie usually allows creators a longer production period, enabling them to spend more time polishing all the details with a bigger budget. Additionally, in line with Chinese audience's rising national pride, several military-themed blockbusters, such as 2017's Wolf Warrior 2 and 2018's Operation Red Sea, all earned whopping box-office receipts, also enhancing the confidence of the producers to dive into the project, Xu notes.

In 2018, after convincing actor Yang－a pop idol with a sizable fan following－to lead the cast, Xu teamed up with veteran scriptwriter Feng Ji, best known for the 2011 hit Designation Forever, about a heroic militia in the 1930s, to launch the project.

However, with enthusiasm for the movie and TV industry ebbing among a lot of capital investors－due to reasons varying from unpredictable risks to low returns－the preparation was more difficult than initially estimated. Equally, policy changes around that time made getting approval for the creators to visit a military barrack for research purposes more difficult.

The maverick director, however, found a clever way to find his inspiration. As the TV series, which develops through two parallel storylines, shifting from training routines to fighting missions, needed a lot of well-built actors to play the special forces operatives, the casting team focused on recruiting retired veterans, especially those who once served in the special units of the People's Armed Police Force.

That way, it became much easier to hear adrenaline-filled tales of military derring-do when the "storytellers" were telling them to try and impress the director in a bid to land the role. "Most of the stories were about China's efforts to counter terrorism. Their contribution and sacrifice to safeguard our country and maintain social stability is quite respectable," he says.

With a crew of over 1,000 members and a cast of around 150 actors, the TV series－which took nine months to shoot in 2019－captured most of its fighting scenes in a mountainous village in Yunnan province, which is located near the border between China and Myanmar.

Speaking about Yang, a dance major graduate from the PLA National Defence University, the director says his temperament, shaped by military college, matches the character he plays. "I also told him to imagine how his life might be if he wasn't chosen to play Jia Baoyu in A Dream of Red Mansions (a popular TV series which marked Yang's acting breakthrough). I said he might be dispatched to work as part of a troupe, as many others on his course would have been. Then he was able to quickly grasp the perspective of the protagonist," recalls Xu.

Also being streamed overseas, the series has been watched over 13 million times on YouTube, accumulating nearly 9,000 comments and over 109,000 likes－a satisfying performance for a Chinese military-themed drama, according to Sun Hao, vice-president of Shanghai Youhug Media, the production company.

Sun recalls that the crew conducted a lot of work to ensure the accuracy of the details, including recruiting a military consultant and constructing full-scale replicas of military facilities, which covered a total area of about 200,000 square meters.

"The series features a lot of hardcore elements, such as military exercises and science, which has drawn many military enthusiasts to discuss the advanced equipment," says Sun.

Describing the military tales as a "rich mine" for literary and artistic creation, Sun concludes that on-screen productions with such themes depict a new generation of the Chinese army, reflecting the improvement of the country's comprehensive strength, as well as the rise of the audience's national pride.

"In the past, most soldiers featured in movies and TV series were from rural areas, but now, the new recruits have more diversified backgrounds, with some growing up in cities or being college students and graduates. They are better educated and well-raised, a drastic change that has also reshaped military-themed works in recent years," adds Sun.