Promotional material for Falling into You Photo: Courtesy of Youku

'Falling into You': High jump series inspires dream chasers to reach greater heights

When the Beijing Winter Olympic Games grabbed the world's attention earlier in 2022, a number of excellent Chinese TV series have used this opportunity to bring the spirit of sports to the small screen to rave reviews.

From the highly-reviewed TV series Never Stop featuring the development of Chinese short track speed skating over the past decades to the drama Floating with You exploring young hockey players' growth and transformation on the ice, these sport series have allowed more people to get a glimpse into the everyday life of professional athletes.

Recently, a new series Falling into You, which debuted on streaming sites on September 29, unfolded the story of a talented high jump athlete who chose to transcend his limits while finding true love.

Adapted from a popular web novel, the TV series featuring actors Jin Chen and Wang Anyu introduced the story of Duan Yucheng, who grew up in a small fishing village on a small island in East China's Fujian Province, and Luo Na, a teaching assistant on the Nanhu University track and field team.

Though Duan has been dreaming of becoming a professional high jumper, he is constantly turned down by many training teams due to his short height.

However, Luo sees a very huge potential hidden inside Duan and decides to help Duan chase after his dream. As the two face many difficulties and overcome them, they slowly discover that they are falling in love with each other. 

Before filming began, director Yi Zheng and the film crew visited many professional athletes to study their everyday lifestyle and habits.

Yi learned some rules and regulations for high jump competitions after he became acquainted with Wang Yu, a former high jump athlete who graduated from Tsinghua University.

"From Wang's description I saw a sport full of poetic romance. During each competition, in addition to the shining medals that they were eager to attain, every competitor longs to challenge themselves to reach greater heights," Yi said in an interview.

Therefore, throughout the series that Yi chose to interpret every movement of the high jump beautiful and pleasant, rather than portray "a tense atmosphere full of self sacrifice," Yi added.

The TV series, currently streaming on Youku, has earned a score of 7.1/10 on Chinese review platform Douban.

Global Times