Charge of the light brigade

Episodes highlight heroic and often unsung work of those who risk everything for others, Xu Fan reports.

Almost a year since concluding the shooting of Light Chaser Rescue, director Zhang Tong still clearly remembers the behind-the-scenes details of an episode featuring the search and rescue of survivors of a devastating magnitude 6.0 earthquake.

Consisting of a total of 40 episodes, the online series, currently running on the streaming sites Tencent Video and Mango TV, is inspired by real-life stories and interviews with more than 100 civilian rescuers from more than 10 provinces and municipalities.

The aforementioned episode recounts the story of a team from the fictional, titular rescue organization discovering three people — a primary school principal, a female teacher and a young student — trapped in the rubble of a collapsed school.