For Zhang Wei — a screenwriter and professor at the Beijing Film Academy — the decade she spent preparing and writing All Rise, a drama centered on workplace dynamics, also became a long-term love letter to the Chinese capital.
Zhang arrived in Beijing in 1995 after gaining admission to the Communication University of China, marking the beginning of a 30-year journey in the metropolis — first as a college student and aspiring writer, and later as a teacher.
Reflecting on her 24 years in teaching, Zhang recalls: "I started out as a newcomer, fresh and young. Since then, I've guided more than 20 classes of students from the university into the workplace. Some left Beijing. Some stayed. Some left and later returned. The city has a kind of magnetism."
She adds that the new drama grew directly from Beijing's soil.
Starring actor Hu Xianxu and actress Zhou Yiran, the drama unfolds at a top law firm that, for the first time in its history, launches a program to select outstanding young talent. After multiple rounds of rigorous exams, seven candidates advance to the final stage and are required to report to the firm's Beijing headquarters for a three-month internship. Top performers are awarded a generous bonus, and a formal job offer.
The drama was filmed at multiple landmarks in the capital, such as the Beijing Olympic Tower, National Stadium, National Aquatics Center, and the iconic shopping complex The Place, said Wang Jiequn, head of the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, at a recent seminar.
"A hit show can help popularize a city, and a city can serve as its grand studio. Our goal is to showcase Beijing's finest scenes to both domestic and global audiences," Wang said.
Shi Haixia, head of operations at Tencent Video, said the drama topped platform ratings during its premiere, with statistics showing that viewers aged 18 to 24 formed the largest audience segment.
Zhang, the screenwriter who also serves as the drama's chief producer, said that as a university teacher, she has always sought to portray the drive and perseverance of young people as they step into professional life.
Given her strong interest in workplace-themed dramas, especially those centered on lawyers, Zhang revealed that she began collecting material in 2015. She interviewed nearly 100 lawyers in an effort to shed light on law firm interns — a group rarely featured as leading characters on screen.
