An episode of Me and My Country Photo: Courtesy of iQIYI

A web series that brings in popular singers, influencers, actors and actresses to comment on short videos made by young Chinese has captured the imagination of netizens in China recently. 

Me and My Country, produced by Chinese streaming giant iQIYI, combines two popular formats, variety shows and short videos, to present a brand new perspective on user generated content. Each episode sees celebrities weigh in as they watch short videos ranging from the serious to the amusing that introduce through the eyes of today's youth the great progress the People's Republic of China has made in different fields since its founding in 1949. 

Youthful eyes

After its first episode debuted on August 31, the show aroused heated discussions on Chinese social media. On China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, related topics have been read more than 170 million times. 

On Chinese media review site Douban, a majority of reviewers have given it five out of five stars, with many commenting that they tuned in because they are fans of a specific celebrity guest but were soon enraptured by the show itself.  

"We need more shows with this kind of attitude. The way the guests chat with each other really puts me at ease," said Douban user Qinzimo.

Douban user Hunlingtou said he enjoys that the videos are from different groups of people and show how today's society is becoming more and more open and diversified.

Most of all, audiences have said they are moved by the video makers' deep love of their country, which is seen as the core essence of the series by netizens and the producers.

Creativity of youth

"We needed to capture young people's attention, while showing respect and saluting the country for its 70th anniversary," Wang Zhaonan, iQIYI editor-in-chief and head producer for Me and My Country, told the Global Times. 

"Finally, after many long discussions, we decide to make this series to 'observe the creativity of Chinese youth.'"

In the first episode, the viewed clips covered the bridges of Chongqing, the history of Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), Chinese traditional dough figurines and children's hopes for the future of the country. 

In The Beauty of China's Bridges, video maker Fengfeng Tongxue introduces dozens of bridges in his home town of Chongqing, as well as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixed link on Earth.

Ke Jingjing, the maker of The Proud NPU Student impressed audiences by concentrating 80 years of history into a single five-minute video. 

Dough Figurine Maker Lang 3.0 follows the story of Lang, the latest person to take up the family business of making tiny, adorable figures out of dough, and shows how he has worked to combine modern elements and traditional craftsmanship together.

In Small Pen, Big Dream, kindergarten children draw their innocent dreams.

Drawing in viewers

"Me and My Country is a platform for youth to show who they are," said Sun Xiaoqing, one of the show's producers. 

"They describe their country from their point of view and using their own creativity." 

Sun told Global Times that it was very important to feature videos that could resonate with audiences on a personal level in order to draw them in. 

"It's easier for audiences to feel some small emotion," said Sun. "After they are drawn in, they may then think and come to understand the essence of each story."

For example, The Beauty of China's Bridges sees video maker Fengfeng Tongxue attempt to drive along Chengdu's Huangjuewan Overpass, famous for its complex design, without the aid of a GPS.

"When Fengfeng Tongxue got lost along the way, that really captured the audience's attention and empathy," said Sun. 

"However, with his failure, the audience was able to understand the difficulty China's engineers and workers faced when connecting so many different places together."

Making sure that the discussions among the guests stays relevant was another challenge. 

"We needed to ensure the guests would be willing to talk and have enough to talk about, so we carefully choose the guests for each episode," Sun noted.

"We started to plan this series last year," Wang noted. 

"We wanted to make a series that was different from other series on TV or the internet celebrating the 70th anniversary."

For example, for a video about Beidahuang, an area in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province that was transformed from a wasteland into one of the largest grain farms in China, the show invited actor Wei Daxun to come on the episode since he was born in the neighboring Jilin Province.

"He has really felt the changes that have taken place in Northeast China over the past 70 years," said Sun.