Promotional trailer of documentary series ‘Daughter of the Party’Photo: Screenshot of Mango TV

A documentary series called Dangdenüer (lit: Daughter of the Party) will begin airing on Monday. Each episode of the 100-episode series, will focus on an outstanding woman in the Communist Party of China (CPC) who has made great contributions to the growth of the country and the Party.

The documentary selected 100 female CPC members from the Party's 100-year history, including one of its founders, workers, medical experts and engineers in the aerospace industry. These women have shined in their industries and their exemplary performance is sure to inspire others to make their own brilliant contributions.

The series shows the positive mental state and life attitude of these female party members and the distinctive characteristics of the women of the times. It also focuses on their love of family and the country. These female Party members have multiple identities, including daughters, mothers, wives and also themselves.

Their spirit and selfless dedication are also depicted in the show, which is co-produced by the All-China Women's Federation and will be released on Mango TV.

The first episode will delve into the life of Xiang Jingyu, the only female founder of the CPC and a pioneer of the women's movement in China. Xiang's story in the documentary starts with part of a letter she wrote to her younger brother.

In the letter, she praised her brother for his ambitions to serve the country and told him to learn more from the example of progressives such as Mao Zedong.

Xiang was born in Xupu, Central China's Hunan Province in 1895. In 1919, she went to France and attended Montargis Women's University as a part-time student. While studying at the school, she read many of Karl Marx's works and developed a belief in Marxism and Communism. 

She became a part of the CPC in 1922 and was elected as the first female member of the CPC Central Committee and became the first director of the Party Women's Bureau. In 1928, she was arrested in Wuhan and as she refused to betray the Party and her beliefs, she was executed later that year by the Kuomintang government.

In the documentary, Xiang's story is narrated by a young teacher from Zhounan High School in Changsha, where Xiang had studied more than 100 years ago.

The production team of the documentary chose to use different narrative methods to make the series more attractive, including inviting people who were closely related to these women to appear in the documentary.

In the episode about Huang Wenxiu, a former first secretary of a village branch of the CPC who had died at the age of 30 in a flash flood while working in June 2019, the production team interviewed Huang's family, including her older sister and father.

The sadness of the family has touched viewers at prescreening events, who were also moved by Huang's contributions. She helped lift 88 of the 103 households in the village out of poverty during her tenure there.

Zhong Shan, director of the documentary, said at a press conference held in Beijing on Sunday that the diverse narrative methods are sure to attract younger audiences. 

The production team, many of the members of which are in their 20s, spent over 100 days traveling to 30 provinces and cities to shoot the series.

"To have people born after 1990 film those over 90 years old is a dialogue across space and time. Their youth can resonate in our documentary," the director said.