New show inspired by Chinese studying abroad

Chinese actor Cao Yunjin attends a press conference for The Children Came Home. Photo provided to China Daily

The rising number of Chinese students going abroad has inspired a new TV series, which may be the first of its kind.

The Children Came Home, a 37-episode TV series that revolves around the struggling lives of students who return to settle in the motherland, premiered on Beijing Satellite Channel on Dec 26.

Statistics show that around 62 percent of the more than 1.2 million Chinese who pursue advanced studies overseas return home to work and live.

Yan Ruozhou, the producer of the program, reveals that producers interviewed more than 70 students who studied overseas.

"More and more Chinese students have come back after graduation in foreign countries as they see the numerous job offers and other opportunities," Jiang Kaiyang, the show's director, said at a news conference in downtown Beijing.

"Sometimes it's funny that those with an international education background will find cultural crushes in the first year when they return from the West," he said. "Some of them prefer to speak Chinese mixed with English, and some complain about the terrible traffic in Beijing."

The serial chronicling the lives of three overseas-educated Chinese tries to reflect the group's challenges and struggles.

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