Popular show inspired from 16th-century novel 'tests' celebrities

The 16th-century novel Journey to the West, one of China's four greatest classics, has spawned a lot of movies and TV programs over the past several decades. Recently, The New Journey — a travel reality show — has become the latest outing loosely inspired from the masterpiece, showcasing the different types of lifestyles through the participating stars' westward journey.

Departing from Shenzhen in Guangdong province, six celebrities — Wang Yanlin, Huang Zitao, Lin Gengxin, Yue Yunpeng, Zhang Ruoyun and Chen Feiyu —join a 21-day journey, during which they are required to carry out missions and undergo tasks.

One of the most challenging tasks is that they are given a small sum of money, thus forcing them to find a temporary job to pay for accommodation and food. When actor Zhang and cross-talk star Yue are "luckily" recruited as property sales interns on 80 yuan ($12.1) per day wage, singer Huang and actor Chen "strive" to land a higher-paid job as the security guards at a community.

During a virtual symposium jointly held by China Television Art Exchange Association and Communication University of China on April 29, more than 10 experts and scholars gathered to discuss the show's creative model and its attempt to examine ordinary Chinese people's attitude toward life amid the pandemic.

Guan Ling, dean of the university's School of Theater, Film and Television, said the show combines some signature elements of a reality show, such as competition and experience, with some of the most concerned social issues to make audience feel interesting and fresh.

Yang Chenghu, deputy dean of the School of Arts and Communication at Beijing Normal University, said the show shakes off the stereotyped formula of a celebrities-attending reality show, leading audience to take a close look at people from different walks of life.

Released online since April 16, the variety show is currently running on the streaming site Tencent Video.