SHENZHEN, China, Dec. 9, 2025 -- A news report from ifeng:
Shenzhen, China's pioneering special economic zone, celebrates its 45th founding anniversary with the launch of the premium miniseries Miracle, a collaborative production by China Media Group and Shenzhen Municipal Publicity Department that premiered recently. The 24-episode series, each 15 minutes long, weaves 15 standalone stories to chronicle the city's transformation from a fishing village with a GDP of 270 million yuan in 1980 to a global metropolis boasting 3.68 trillion yuan in 2024—a staggering annual growth rate of 18.8% over 45 years.
Helmed by renowned director Shen Yan (My First Half Life) and literary supervisor Liang Zhenhua (Wind Blows in Changsha), the series assembles an all-star cast including Hu Ge, Lei Jiayin, Yan Ni, and Zhang Songwen. "No word better describes this city than 'miracle'," noted Shen at the launch. Filmed in 200+ real Shenzhen locations over 45 days, it captures landmarks like Huaqiangbei Electronics Market—once a small commercial street now known as the "world's electronics capital"—and the Civic Center, alongside street-level scenes of food stalls and herbal tea shops that preserve the city's cultural memory. The crew specifically shot at Shekou Industrial Zone, where the iconic slogan "Time is money, efficiency is life" was born in 1981.
Adopting a "micro-narratives reflecting grand eras" approach, episodes portray diverse characters whose fates mirror Shenzhen's evolution: Hu Ge plays a cadre aiding Tibet, echoing the city's regional collaboration efforts; Lei Jiayin stars as an AI engineer, representing the tech innovation driving 2024's 1.56 trillion yuan in strategic emerging industries; Yan Ni embodies a delivery rider, symbolizing the 17.99 million permanent residents who fuel the city's vitality. Standout chapters include Red Mangrove Years, which explores ecological conservation amid urbanization—timely given Shenzhen's 97% air quality in 2024 —and AI Era, loosely based on robot entrepreneur, showcasing how the city's 6.46% R&D intensity translates to 24.1% of China's industrial robot output. "These stories answer why Shenzhen succeeded and how its people created miracles," Liang explained.
The series aligns with Shenzhen's 45-year journey of "daring to venture and excel." Its narrative arc traces the city's economic milestones: from the "3-day-floor" International Trade Center depicted in City's Melody to the 2024 achievement of over 5.4 trillion yuan in industrial output—ranking first nationwide. Love Song 1999's night school students reflect the era when education laid groundwork for today's 81,123 yuan in per capita disposable income, while Bay Area Blueprint shows a young architect designing the 595 km of metro lines that now crisscross the city. The series also references 2025 national policies, framing Shenzhen's role in leading reform as its private enterprises now account for 70.1% of foreign trade.
Innovative production methods defined the project: a "triple co-creation" model integrating professional creators, citizens, and government. Notably, these stories are not fictional creations out of thin air, but carefully selected epitomes of the era drawn from thousands of real-life incidents. As Shenzhen enters a new reform phase, Miracle offers a heartfelt tribute to the millions who turned impossibilities into reality. A new generation of entrepreneurs works late into the night, embodying the city's unyielding spirit of innovation.
