Once a tidal flat of five fishing villages with 8,000 residents, Longgang is regarded as a pioneer in China's urbanization. It underwent three key transformations: designation as a self-funded town in 1984, being named "China's Printing City" in 2002, and elevation as the country's first town officially reclassified as a city in 2019.
Since its debut on China Central Television's CCTV-8, the drama quickly became popular, generating 2.5 billion views for related topics on major social platforms like Sina Weibo and Douyin within its first three days, according to data from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism at a recent Beijing seminar.
"I was deeply moved by Zhu's work. After reading the book overnight, I was struck by how remarkable the people there were — their diligence and ingenuity were truly compelling," Sun recalled.
He explained that despite the area's poor natural conditions and low agricultural yields, locals demonstrated extraordinary courage by traveling across the country to seek business opportunities.
