Turning 30, looking at the milestone in the rearview mirror as you speed past the signs of youthful abandon. You are now greeted by signs of responsible adulthood. Next left, parenting. Turn right for setting up home with someone else. A time, especially for women, of reflection and expectation. A time to take stock of their career, romantic life and maybe consider motherhood, now or in the future.

It cannot be ignored. Friends and family will discuss the age agenda with you. They mean well, it's just that they are placing their expectations on you. You know that your life should not be defined by an arbitrary age group. But, great expectations by others put the pressure on you.

This topic has been raised by a talk show focusing on the self-expression of women over 30. Actress Jiang Shuying, 34, spoke of her eagerness to embrace her real self rather than becoming defined by society.

"Recently, the biggest change in my mindset is that I can easily accept my flaws or failures," Jiang says. "Yes, I'm still pondering what I want, and probably will ponder about it for my whole life, but, so what?"

She says that she no longer pushes herself to play challenging roles of different types that just don't suit her.

"I used to hope that each of my film and TV works would be a hit. However, at present, I just want to stay curious and keep going," she adds.

The talk show, Middle Me, which is aired on Tencent's video streaming platform, has also invited other female celebrities, mostly in their 30s or 40s, including Taiwan pop singer Selina Jen, talent agent Yang Tianzhen and actress Ma Yili, to share how they live their daily life and proffer their views on such topics as career plan, work-family balance and gender equality.

Jiang says that she hopes by sharing her own inner thoughts, she can help relieve women in the audience of their anxiety toward aging.

Shao Shiwei, the program's producer, says that the show aims to present how 30-to 40-something women in different states of mind live a life that is congruent with their values, seeking to empower a contemporary female audience, many of whom have likely experienced a bewildering array of emotions as their years advance.

"After our audience gets to know the various lifestyles of those female celebrities, the ways they use to measure their self-worth are likely to be more diverse," says Shao, adding that the celebrities' different personal reflections on love, work, marriage and other aspects of life can somehow serve as references for women over 30 to find direction when they are feeling confused.

Shao, also the chief brand officer of Beijing Shixiang Technology and Culture Co Ltd, notes that what inspired the production unit to initiate the program were the stories shared by the public.

Its official WeChat account, Xinshixiang, often encourages its readers to share the confusion or problems they are facing in their daily lives.

After using an AI system to analyze the users' data, Shao found that a large number of female readers over 30, especially those in third-tier cities and towns, are clashing with their parents, suffering from the pressure to settle down or job-related stress.

"The idea of producing the talk show then hit us, as we want to encourage more women who are at a loss when facing the aforementioned pressures to live according to their own desires," says Shao.

Actress and filmmaker Tao Hong, 48, has also been invited to the show to talk about her career, marriage, the role of motherhood and the passing of her parents.

Last year, in another talk show, she pointed out that good female roles become scarce for middle-aged actresses.

However, this year, women over 30 have been thrust into the limelight as many reality shows and TV series that advocate female empowerment attract large audiences in China.

For instance, the talent show Sisters Riding the Winds and Breaking the Waves, which gathers female contestants, all over 30, to vie for the opportunity to join a five-member performance group, has become one of the hits of the summer.

Such TV series as Nothing but Thirty and We Are All Alone that try to present women in a multidimensional way have struck a responsive chord in the hearts of numerous female viewers.

In this sense, Tao says that Chinese women are using their own wonderful lives to break the stereotypical image of traditional female roles in China.

"After you see some women becoming the mainstays of our society, you will know that we are gradually approaching the goal of gender equality. We women should be more confident in ourselves," Tao says.

She also notes that objective self-examination is important for women to better know themselves.