Screenshot of the trailer of Ebola Fighters Photo: Sina Weibo

 
The trailer for the TV drama Ebola Fighters, which tells the story of Chinese doctors who helped fight the Ebola virus in Africa, was released on Monday, generating audience interest in the series and earning compliments for shining a light on a group of people who have shown a great love for international society.

While a release date was not revealed, many netizens called for its release as soon as possible.

The series is based on the true stories of the Chinese medical teams who went to fight Ebola in several West African countries in 2014, revealing a battle between science and disease, darkness and light.

Zheng Shupeng, played by actor Luo Jin, is a virologist who, along with his Chinese medical team, headed to Africa to fight a sudden outbreak of Ebola. 

The lead female character He Huan, played by Chinese actress Mao Xiaotong, is taking part in an undercover investigation into diamond smuggling in West Africa when she finds herself working alongside Zheng in his fight against the epidemic.

Several foreign actors and actresses also star in the show, with one of them playing a role who has a deep relation with Zheng. 

According to the trailer, the script for the series took three years to complete. 

The production team started going to Africa for field interviews and visits to China's diplomatic and consular missions in Africa and with the Chinese medical team in March 2019. 

The production team spent more than four months in South China's Hainan Province building sets replicating the natural and residential environments in West African countries.

"I felt very nervous and excited while watching the trailer. I am looking forward to watching the TV series and hope the actor and the actress can recreate the medical team's experience," one netizen wrote on Sina Weibo.

The real stories of the Chinese medial team in Africa are no less touching or breathtaking than those depicted in fictional TV series and films.

"Loneliness and illness were the biggest challenges for me while I worked as a medical aid worker in a foreign country," Miao Yuankui, 52, a Chinese doctor and a member of the Chinese medical team to Togo, told the Global Times.

The doctor even came down with malaria soon after arriving in Togo. After he recovered, he was soon beset by a new worry after he found a hole in one of the medical gloves he wore during an operation on a patient with HIV, meaning that he was at risk of being infected by the disease. 

Another doctor Ji Bing from North China's Shanxi Province told the Global Times that they needed to learn the local language and customs before going to Africa in order to better provide aid to the African people.