Documentary explores creation of China's national anthem

A new documentary titled Rise Up premiered on Monday morning, commemorating the 90th anniversary of China's national anthem March of the Volunteers, and its creation in Shanghai amid the cultural movement of the 1930s.

The documentary explores the origins of the national anthem and the film Children of Troubled Times from which the anthem originated through extensive archival footage, interviews with expert historians and descendants of the filmmaking team, and performances by the Shanghai Opera House troupe.

The film spotlights how the youngsters, including filmmakers Xia Yan and Tian Han, and music composer Nie Er, used art forms like literature, film, theater and music to arouse patriotic fervor as the nation faced peril.

The production team utilized artificial intelligence technology to recreate the historical scenes from 90 years ago and filmed at relevant locations where the national anthem was born in Shanghai.

In the documentary, actors of the opera March of the Volunteers from the Shanghai Opera House provided readings of diaries and firsthand accounts of the cultural workers, recalling the red culture of Shanghai.

Rise Up is produced jointly by the Party History Research Office of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Shanghai Media Group's Documentary Center, and the Shanghai Opera House. It aired on Dragon TV on Monday at 6:10 am and on SMG's Documentary Channel on Tuesday at 7 pm, with exclusive simultaneous streaming available on the Kandongfang app.