Unveiling medical mysteries

"But what they needed was just someone to listen to them."

China has made some well-acclaimed medical-themed TV documentaries in recent years, including Life Matters.

On Douban, China's major film and TV criticism website, both seasons of Life Matters, which showcases people's reactions in a hospital setting, got 9.6 points out of 10.

Zhang hopes the new series reveals different dimensions.

"When audiences see the story from the doctors' side, they can know human nature from a different angle," she says.

"We just wanted to provide a different point of view and a truer reflection of doctors' lives. They're not superheroes."

Sometimes, they are like heroes in Greek tragedies, struggling against gloomy destinies.

Sun Zimin, a hematologist at Anhui Provincial Hospital, followed her leukemia patients for 15 years.

"I felt desperate. Not a single person survived in the end," she says.

"I even thought my job was meaningless. Then, I decided I would not surrender until the day I conquered leukemia."

Her team is now doing cord-blood stem-cell transplants to treat leukemia.

Zhang's team was part of the highly acclaimed TV reality show, Oaths of Angels, made in 2014. Though it got 9.1 points on Douban, there was no second season.

That year's Chinese TV screens saw a boom of reality shows overwhelmed by entertainment celebrities.

She says she understands why the show wasn't continued.

"The market has to be taken care of. But compared with celebrities, doctors maybe deserve more admiration from the public."

In addition to the four-episode edition for CCTV, her team has finished a 10-episode edition, which will air on video-streaming platforms soon.

"I hope the program can be seen by more people this time," she says.