# Fleet of Time
**Fleet of Time** (匆匆那年; also released as **Back in Time**) is a 2014 Chinese romantic drama directed by Zhang Yibai, based on the best-selling novel series by Jiu Yehui, who also co-wrote the screenplay.[1](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/fleet_of_time.html) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/fleet-of-time/umc.cmc.3p65eqsylo0mdpzfkh05695nb) It stars [Eddie Peng](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-peng) as [Chen Xun](https://www.edgepedia.org/chen-xun) and [Ni Ni](https://www.edgepedia.org/ni-ni) as Fang Hui, with Ryan Zheng Kai, Vision Wei, Zhang Zixuan, Cya Liu, Michael Chan, and Bi Xia in supporting roles.[1](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/fleet_of_time.html) The film is a prominent example of the Chinese "youth film" (qingchunpian) genre that became a commercial mainstay of the domestic market in the 2010s.[3](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376518362_Deciphering_the_Commercial_Miracle_The_Research_on_the_Marketing_and_Distribution_Process_of_Chinese_Youth_Films_after_2010s)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 匆匆那年 (Cong cong na nian); alternative titles Back in Time, Cong Cong Na Nian[4](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/fleet-time) |
| Director / writers | Zhang Yibai; writers Li Han, Liu Han, and Jiu Yehui (also author of the original novel)[1](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/fleet_of_time.html) |
| Lead cast | Eddie Peng (Chen Xun), Ni Ni (Fang Hui), Ryan Zheng Kai (Zhao Ye)[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/back-in-time-2014) |
| Release | December 4, 2014 (China); December 11, 2014 in the United States via China Lion Film Distribution[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4284020/credits/) |
| Running time | 119 minutes[4](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/fleet-time) |
| Worldwide gross | $94,244,191, of which $569,280 came from the United States and $159,219 from Australia[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3996419585/) |
| IMDb rating | 5.5/10 from 713 user ratings[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4284020/ratings/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story is framed as a recollection. In the present day, the thirty-ish financial analyst Chen Xun (Eddie Peng) is en route to the wedding of his high school friend [Zhao Ye](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhao-ye) (Ryan Zheng Kai). At a bar he drunkenly laments his first love, attracting the curiosity of a young woman named Seven (Cya Liu), who turns out to be Zhao Ye's wedding videographer; she begins on-camera interviews with Chen Xun about his past.[1](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/fleet_of_time.html) His memories take the film back to his school years, when he met and pursued the quiet, reserved Fang Hui (Ni Ni), even sacrificing attendance at a better university to stay with her.[1](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/fleet_of_time.html) • [9](https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2015/02/fleet-of-time/)
The narrative follows the group of five close friends through school and into adulthood, covering roughly fifteen years of friendship, romance, and separation.[10](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Fleet_of_Time?hl=en_US&id=7FD952A141F4BF8AMV) After the characters enter college, the relationship between Chen Xun and Fang Hui frays and collapses; in the film's darker late turn, Fang Hui sleeps with another man after a bad fight with Chen Xun, leading to a pregnancy and abortion.[9](https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2015/02/fleet-of-time/) Fang Hui's absence from the wedding reunion is one of the film's driving mysteries, resolved late.[1](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/fleet_of_time.html)
The sources describe the story's time period differently: Apple TV's synopsis places the protagonist's youth in 1980s Beijing,[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/fleet-of-time/umc.cmc.3p65eqsylo0mdpzfkh05695nb) while [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) describes "a group of school friends growing up in the 1990s and 2000s"[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3996419585/) and the Filmed in Ether review says the film "primarily takes place during the late '90s and early '00s," with period touches such as a basic Nokia mobile phone.[11](https://www.filmedinether.com/reviews/review-back-in-time/)
## Production and release
The film was produced by Beijing Galloping Horse (also styled Gallop Horse Film & TV Production), with Chinalion Film as the classification applicant, and was shot in Mandarin.[4](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/fleet-time) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/fleet-of-time/umc.cmc.3p65eqsylo0mdpzfkh05695nb) It opened in China in December 2014, with Box Office Mojo listing an earliest release date of December 4, 2014.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4284020/credits/) The Australian Classification Board rated the film M on December 8, 2014, with the consumer advice "mature themes, sexual references, infrequent coarse language and violence."[4](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/fleet-time)
In the United States, China Lion Film Distribution opened the film on December 11, 2014 in 11 theaters, its widest release, with an opening weekend of $85,756.[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3996419585/) The film's worldwide gross of $94,244,191 came overwhelmingly from China; the US accounted for 0.6% of the total.[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3996419585/)
## Genre context and reception
Fleet of Time belongs to the qingchunpian ("youth film") wave that emerged to wide popularity in China in the 2010s, a nostalgic, largely apolitical genre with wistful titles such as *[My Old Classmate](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-old-classmate)*, *So Young*, and *Yesterday Once More*.[12](https://www.chinachannel.larbpublishingworkshop.org/2018/04/06/looking-back/) A study of Chinese youth films after 2010 lists Fleet of Time among the youth films that entered the 2014 domestic top-20 box office, alongside *Tiny Times 3* and *My Old Classmate*, noting that the genre had become "one profitable genre film in the Chinese film market" and an accessible avenue for first-time directors because of its low budgets.[3](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376518362_Deciphering_the_Commercial_Miracle_The_Research_on_the_Marketing_and_Distribution_Process_of_Chinese_Youth_Films_after_2010s) A 2022 Sixth Tone commentary on the youth-drama genre cited Fleet of Time among the new-style productions that critics saw as vehicles for simplistic, emotion-driven stories with idealized protagonists.[13](https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1010014)
Critical reception was mixed to negative. The lovehkfilm review credited the film with appealing leads and strong production values but called it a "barely average entry in the nostalgic school romance genre," criticizing a self-indulgent story and characters who become unlikeable after high school.[1](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/fleet_of_time.html) The Cinema Escapist review found the execution poor and the late dark turn feeling like shock for its own sake, while acknowledging well-written scenes of conflict between the leads; it argued the film tried to be a more "mature" companion to *My Old Classmate* and *So Young* and lost the passion that made those films work.[9](https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2015/02/fleet-of-time/) On IMDb the film holds a 5.5/10 rating from 713 users.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4284020/ratings/)
## Adaptations
The source novel was also adapted as a television series, and the title has been reused internationally: a Thai drama series named Fleet of Time (กาลครั้งหนึ่งรักของเรา), with a different story about five school friends, aired 20 episodes on GMM25 from June 17 to August 20, 2019.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/fleet-of-time/umc.cmc.3p65eqsylo0mdpzfkh05695nb) • [14](https://contentthailand.com/film/fleet-of-time/)
## References
1. [Fleet of Time (匆匆那年) (2014), lovehkfilm.com, review by Kozo](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/fleet_of_time.html)
2. [Fleet of Time, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/fleet-of-time/umc.cmc.3p65eqsylo0mdpzfkh05695nb)
3. [Deciphering the Commercial Miracle: The Research on the Marketing and Distribution Process of Chinese Youth Films after 2010s, ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376518362_Deciphering_the_Commercial_Miracle_The_Research_on_the_Marketing_and_Distribution_Process_of_Chinese_Youth_Films_after_2010s)
4. [FLEET OF TIME, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/fleet-time)
5. [Fleet of Time streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/back-in-time-2014)
6. [Fleet of Time (2014), Box Office Mojo, credits](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4284020/credits/)
7. [Fleet of Time, Box Office Mojo, release grosses](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3996419585/)
8. [Fleet of Time (2014), IMDb ratings](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4284020/ratings/)
9. [Review: Fleet of Time (China, 2014), Cinema Escapist, Richard Yu](https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2015/02/fleet-of-time/)
10. [Fleet of Time, Movies on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Fleet_of_Time?hl=en_US&id=7FD952A141F4BF8AMV)
11. [Review: Back in Time, Filmed in Ether, Hieu Chau](https://www.filmedinether.com/reviews/review-back-in-time/)
12. [Looking Back, China Channel](https://www.chinachannel.larbpublishingworkshop.org/2018/04/06/looking-back/)
13. [China's Youth Dramas Face a Mid-Life Crisis, Sixth Tone, He Tianping](https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1010014)
14. [Fleet of Time, Content Thailand](https://contentthailand.com/film/fleet-of-time/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Coming-of-age films › Coming-of-age films released 2010 onward*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license