White Deer Plain

Set in the eponymous White Deer Village in Shaanxi Province where the two most important families – Bai and Lu – and their sons have always lived together in peace. But the turmoil leads to a fierce struggle for land ownership. A young woman new to the village soon finds herself caught between the two camps. Director Liu Jin uses the story of these two families as a metaphor for the fate of the Chinese people as first Chinese war lords are overrun by Japanese invaders, then civil war follows hot on the heels of the Second World War and finally the victorious Maoists begin waving their red flags. The drama is based off the novel by Chen Zhong Shi.

Directed by Chen Zhongshi, White Deer Plain leans on a strong ensemble — Zhang Jiayi, He Bing, Qin Hailu — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The series landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about war & politics titles of 2017.