BEIJING, February 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On January 30, iQIYI, China’s leading online entertainment platform, premiered the realistic drama “Born to Be Alive”, transforming the little-known story of Chinese forest guards into a high-impact mainstream series.
Rather than using conservation as a vague backdrop, “Born to Be Alive” places it at the heart of the drama. The story blends elements of crime, survival thriller and family emotion as the rangers battle poachers and face difficult choices between survival and ecological responsibility.
Inspired by true stories from the 1990s, the series takes place in the Sanjiangyuan region of Qinghai province in China. Against the backdrop of the country’s rapid economic transformation, the film follows a small group of rangers tasked with ending poaching and protecting a fragile ecosystem amid the complex interplay between development and conservation.
Led by actress Zi YANG and with a special appearance by actor Ge HU, the production spent 188 days filming on location in remote, high-altitude areas of Qinghai. The cast and crew worked in thin air and extreme cold to replicate the physical reality of patrols, surveillance, and confrontations on set. This approach to the terrain gives the series a cinematic realism and makes the landscape itself a central character.
Xiaohui WANG, Content Director of iQIYI, said: “This series embodies the true spirit of long-form storytelling. Our greatest achievement lies in continually pushing creative and physical boundaries to deliver work that reflects the power of nature and the resilience of life.
“Born to Be Alive” has established itself as one of the most talked about Chinese dramas of the season. Ahead of its launch, the series attracted more than 2 million advance bookings on iQIYI, a sign of a strong audience appetite for grounded, issue-driven storytelling. After its release, its content popularity index on iQIYI exceeded 8,500 on February 4 and generated 887 trending topics on major Chinese platforms such as Weibo and Douyin.
The series is a reflection of iQIYI’s clear commitment to long-form, high-level storytelling. This shows a desire to invest in intellectual property with social resonance. With “Born to Be Alive,” iQIYI not only pays homage to the unsung guardians who protected the plateau’s ecology; it also demonstrates the company’s ability to combine commercial attractiveness and social impact.
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SOURCE iQIYI Inc.
