TV series sheds light on those who defied danger to risk their lives on a vital supply line, Xu Fan reports.

In early 1930s, when the Communist Party of China was in conflict against the Kuomintang, CPC decision makers secretly established a colossal network-which consisted of three routes-to connect its headquarters in Shanghai to the major revolutionary bases stretching from the north to the south of the country.

However, only one of the routes, known as "the red transportation line of CPC's Central Committee", survived the enemy's ruthless crackdown, managing to escort more than 200 Party leaders and cadres as well as vital wartime supplies-such as salt and medicine-carried by more than 6,000 bamboo shoulder poles to these bases in rural China.

Recently, the route which spans 3,000 kilometers has become the "protagonist" of a TV series.

Jue Mi Shi Ming (The Confidential Missions), a 32-episode drama, has been running on China Central Television's CCTV-1 and streaming site Tencent Video since April 18, marking the first such work to shed light on the lesser-known heroes who once risked or even sacrificed their lives to evade blockades and checkpoints on the line.

Starting from Shanghai, the route went to Hong Kong, getting through the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian before reaching Ruijin, Jiangxi province, then the CPC's largest revolutionary base led by Mao Zedong.

So far, the show starring actors Zhang Tong and Ying Haoming as two station heads on the supply line, has been widely viewed and acclaimed, exemplified by its getting up to 120 million clicks on Sina Weibo, a Chinese social media platform.

"The creation of the story was first inspired by the declassified files of the Ministry of State Security," says Zhang Min, the producer." For us, it was a very meaningful project to delve into this unknown chapter of the CPC's early revolutionary history to mark the Party's 100th founding anniversary."

She reveals the drama is the final production of a trio franchise about the CPC's early history between late 1920 and early 1930s, with the first and second series respectively featuring a Red Army division that sacrificed the lives of many soldiers to ensure the retreat of the major force, and the Gutian Conference held in Fujian in 1929, which defined the missions of the CPC and the Red Army.

With the support of Chinese authorities and experts specializing in revolutionary history, the new drama started shooting in Bogong'ao village in Fujian in September 2020, taking 70 days to travel to Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces to shoot the outdoor scenes as well as the scenarios in several soundstages in Hengdian World Studios, the country's largest shooting base for movies and television productions.

Hidden deep in far-flung mountainous areas in western Fujian, Bogong'ao was the first station to shelter CPC members trekking from Kuomintang-ruled areas in Guangdong.

From the winter in 1930 to the eve of Red Army's Long March in October in 1934, the transitional station accommodated many significant Party members, ranging from leaders including Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Ye Jianying and Dong Biwu as well as specialists in various fields such as telecommunication.

One of the village's most heartbreaking stories is that of 30-plus members of the local Zou family who worked for the Party on transportation missions. Seven of them paid the ultimate price and were brutally killed by the Kuomintang forces. All were officially recognized as "revolutionary martyrs".

As one of the archetypes of the TV show's protagonist Pan Yuqing, Zou Duanren was once the head of the Bogong'ao station. During a mission departing from Qingxi in Guangdong to Bogong'ao, he was captured by Kuomintang militia.

Despite suffering torture in prison, Zou refused to reveal any information and was taken outside to be killed near a local middle school. The cruel enemies even poured kerosene to burn his corpse. This traumatic end left his two teenage daughters struggling with trauma for decades.

A lot of inspirational tales about the revolutionary martyrs are featured in the TV series, making it sort of a documentary-like work to help modern audiences learn more about the history that has been sealed for many years.

Encouraged by the martyrs' devotion and loyalty, producer Zhang Min says the crew of around 400 people-with the number sometimes exceeding 700 for large-scale scenes-had overcome a number of difficulties, varying from unsettled weather to unexpected incidents and harsh environment.

"Around 90 percent of the scenes were shot in the wild or outdoors. From revolutionary relics to historical streets and old ports, we have tried to revisit all the major stations on the route, providing audience a vivid and panoramic view of the arduous line which went through seas, railways, rivers and mountains," says Zhang Min.

"The new drama doesn't focus on renowned figures or great leaders but has turned the lens to some ordinary people who turned heroes for the liberation of their country, which we hope resonates with young audiences," she adds.

Li Zhun, a renowned critic and former vice-chairman of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, says the new TV series has convincingly demonstrated early CPC members' noble spirit and their firm faith against the Kuomintang's cruel purge, hailing it as a breakthrough in depicting grassroots CPC members in the country's TV history.