A still shows workers picking grapes in a vineyard.[Photo provided to China Daily]

According to CVB, a television show statistics firm affiliated with the National Radio and Television Administration, the 25-episode drama, which made its debut on China Central Television's CCTV-1 on May 14, quickly rose to the top of the ratings for prime-time dramas for two consecutive weeks in May. It was followed by the Altay-based To the Wonder in second place, featuring the stunning landscape of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and the fantastical costume drama, Joy of Life 2, in third place.

The opening sequence of Hometown of Stars' inaugural episode may resonate with a generation raised in the once desolate rural landscapes of northwestern China in the 1980s.

Set against the backdrop of the Helan Mountains in 1984, the scene begins with a ballad with lyrics that depict a stark reality: "There are no birds flying in the sky, stones rolling across the ground (due to heavy winds)/People inadvertently swallowing sand and dirt as they speak/And the sheep unable to find grass to feed on."