Documenting the fight against the epidemic

An aerial view of Wuhan on a sunny day in mid-February. XINHUA

Shao Jin made a special decision on the morning of Feb 12, the 21st day since the lockdown of Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The 41-year-old film director shaved his head in solidarity with some medical workers who'd cut their hair short or shaved their heads to improve work efficiency in hospitals.

A native of Yangzhou in Jiangsu province, Shao has been in Wuhan, the provincial capital, since November to shoot his coming-of-age TV series, Manual of Youth Entrepreneurship.

As one of thousands of content producers for film and TV who are working in or based in Wuhan, Shao has witnessed the city's determination and efforts to fight the epidemic.

Last year, Wuhan's cinemas grossed 1.54 billion yuan ($219.76 million), the most in Hubei and eighth most among cities nationwide, according to the local newspaper Hubei Daily.

With its confirmed cases of infection much higher than other Chinese cities, Wuhan is forecast to take a longer time before the local film and TV industry recovers, some insiders contacted by China Daily say.

But most insiders, including Shao, who has joined a volunteer group to help locals, have transitioned from enduring anxiety in the early days of the outbreak to coping with the situation in a more optimistic way.

Shao says his crew of more than 130 members had started to shoot the TV series on Nov 26. The drama is about college students trying to establish a startup, with major scenes set in Wuhan, which has over 80 colleges, universities and other higher-education institutions.

"Wuhan has more than 1 million college students. They are vigorous, energetic and spirited, making the city one of the best options for a youth-themed story," Shao says.

According to the filming schedule, the crew would take a short holiday on the eve and first day of Spring Festival, which fell on Jan 24 and 25, respectively, and then return to shoot the remaining scenes in around two weeks.