Battle of Changsha is a 2014 Chinese television series produced by Hou Hongliang and directed by Kong Sheng. The story is set against the backdrop of the Battle of Changsha in 1939 during World War II. Starring Wallace Huo and Yang Zi, the series premiered on CCTV-8 on 14 July ended its run on 31 July 2014. The series was a critical success, and was the highest rated drama on major streaming website Douban.
Synopsis
Battle of Changsha tells a story about an ordinary family in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, coping with the Anti-Japanese war between 1938 and 1945, reflecting Chinese people's lives during that ill-fated period. With the Japanese air-raid and students’ protest as the background, the drama begins with the narration of Hu Xiangxiang, a 16-year-old high school student, spoiled but innocent and inner-directed girl who is running away from a blind date set up by her brother-in-law, Xue Junshan, who's arranging to marry her off, then leave Changsha to avoid the war there. Besides, Hu Xiangxiang's family also want to find an escape to protect her twin brother, Hu Xiangjiang. The person for the blind date is Gu Qingming, a senior Kuomintang strategy adviser of the battle who is totally different from those people who want to stay away from the war. He is eager to fight against the Japanese even though his family, especially his father is strongly against him to go into the battle instead of going abroad to save his life. They didn't start off on good terms and Xue Junshan had to pick another man as the fiancé for Hu Xiangxiang. In the meantime, then Chinese president Chiang Kai-shek demanded a scorched-earth policy in an attempt to stop the Japanese from advancing, but the policy went terribly wrong. As a result, the whole city was burnt to ashes even before the Japanese troops’ intruding. Approximately 30,000 of people were burned to death in their sleep including Xiangxiang's fiancé and family. Hu Xiangxiang is still fairly ignorant about what a war is really like and all she wants to do is escape. However, during the times of war, the 16-year-old girl is forced to grow up quickly. After seeing a series of deaths of family members and killings carried out by Japanese troops, Xiangxiang and Xiao Man get themselves involved into the war. She chose to be a nurse in order to save lives as much as possible. They are also deeply touched by the constant help from Gu Qingming whenever needed and his passion to save the country. The romance between Xiangxiang and Gu Qingming blossoms in the most chaotic time of China.
