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BEIJING, Feb. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On January 30, iQIYI, China’s leading online entertainment platform, premiered the realistic drama “Born to Be Alive”, turning the little‑known story of China’s wildlife rangers into a high‑impact, mainstream series.
Rather than using conservation as a vague backdrop, “Born to Be Alive” puts it at the heart of the drama. The story weaves together elements of crime, survival thriller and family emotion as the rangers battle poachers and confront difficult choices between survival and ecological responsibility.
Inspired by true stories from the 1990s, the series is set in the Sanjiangyuan area of Qinghai province in China. Against the backdrop of the country’s rapid economic transformation, it follows a small group of rangers tasked with stopping poaching and protecting a fragile ecosystem amid the complex interplay between development and conservation.
Led by actress Zi YANG and featuring a special appearance by actor Ge HU, the production spent 188 days filming on location in remote, high‑altitude parts of Qinghai. The cast and crew worked through thin air and extreme cold to reproduce the physical reality of patrols, stake‑outs and confrontations on the plateau. This on‑the‑ground approach gives the series a cinematic realism and makes the landscape itself feel like a central character.
Xiaohui WANG, Chief Content Officer of iQIYI, stated: “This series embodies the true spirit of long-form storytelling. Our greatest achievement lies in continually pushing creative and physical boundaries to deliver a work that reflects the power of nature and resilience of life.”
“Born to Be Alive” has broken out as one of the most talked‑about Chinese dramas of the season. Ahead of its launch, the series attracted more than 2 million advance reservations on iQIYI, signaling strong audience appetite for grounded, issue‑driven storytelling. After release, its content popularity index on iQIYI has surpassed 8,500 by February 4 and it generated 887 trending topics across major Chinese platforms such as Weibo and Douyin.
The series is a reflection of iQIYI’s clear commitment to long‑form, high‑craft storytelling. It shows a willingness to invest in socially resonant IP. With “Born to Be Alive”, iQIYI not only pays tribute to the unsung guardians who protected the plateau’s ecology; it also demonstrates the company’s ability to combine commercial appeal with social impact.
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