A realistic drama A Lifelong Journey has become a huge hit on TV and online recently.    1    (focus) on the ups and downs of Zhou’s family over five decades, it has caused nostalgia (怀旧) among many viewers. With the drama    2     (release) on China Central Television and streaming platform iQiyi on Jan 28, its viewership is    3    (steady) on the rise. Many viewers issued a    4    (describe) of the show that it was like a time machine to drift into the past, reflecting how they got here.

Adapted    5    Liang Xiaosheng’s award-winning novel of the same name, the show explores themes of family, friendship and romance in a bittersweet story. Set in    6    1960s, it’s not surprising that the family has to deal with lots of social    7    (change). like the restart of Gaokao, the country’s Reform and Opening-up, the boom of Xiahai and the nation’s anti-corruption campaign. Following the lives of Zhou’s family, the Grama gives viewers an insight into the ordinary Chinese who have turned a country in    8    (poor) into the second largest economy in the world.

The show’s director Li Lu,    9    became well known for his anti-corruption series in the Name of the People in 2017, said “China    10    ( witness) dramatic changes over the past five decades and it is time to create such a drama to remember the past.”

2 . When A33, a theater in Beijing, hosted a new stand-up comedy show（脱口秀), to the surprise of the organizers, nearly 250 people turned up and laughed together. Six years ago, that would have been unbelievable. Indeed, there were even cases of shows having more performers than viewers.

Wan Da, one of the performers, said, “Many people are worried about the future of stand-up comedy, a genre (类型) that is very popular in the U.S. after its introduction in China. Can it adapt itself here? But as the results show, there is no need to worry. We have survived and carried on some of the best American traditions.”

Programs such as Rock& Roast, a comedy talk show competition, which are thought to help people reduce their pressure, drive audiences to offline performances for a real laugh. “Generally, our audiences are in the 20-35 age group, but recently some older people are reported to go to the theatre,” said Song Qiyu, a performer and founder of Beijing Comedy Center.

Compared to traditional Chinese comedy performances, the stand-up comedy has a lower bar as it doesn't require years of professional training. This allows everyone to take part. Work experience and personal observations of life are the sources of their inspiration. Different lives and jobs make the performances varied, giving them unique individual colors.

Joe Wong, a humorist from Jilin province, whose performance in Washington, D.C. in 2010 attracted much attention across China's social media, is happy to see the development of the industry in China. However, he has a warning, too: There is huge space for the genre in China, but we should be careful of growing too fast as the market still needs good works.

In China, many fresh college graduates join. Through their efforts, the industry will improve its standards and popularity as well as influence.