Working with the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, the writer adapted his award-winning novel, which was released in 2011, into a three-hour play. It not only portrays Shanghai's pivotal role in history but also celebrates the virtues of courage, sacrifice, and the young people's undying pursuit of their dreams.

For Li, who is known for his stage productions, especially romantic comedies such as How Can We Fool With Love and Mr and Mrs Single, this was his first time directing a spy thriller.

"I was intrigued by the novel, and when we turned it into a play, we lent the production some of the artistic expression of cinema, in the hopes of attracting a younger audience," Li says.

He says that in recent years, there has been a notable resurgence in patriotic spirit among the youth, characterized by a growing young audience for movies, TV dramas and plays themed around the CPC, such as The Age of Awakening, a phenomenal hit in 2021, which depicts pioneering intellectuals and young people in the early 20th century striving to save the nation, and reviews the bumpy road they traversed to establish the CPC in 1921.

"Unlike those revolutionary martyrs who are portrayed vividly in the TV drama (The Age of Awakening), we show ordinary young people who also had courage and determination, and even sacrificed their lives for the country," says the director.