# Our Times (启航：当风起时)
**Our Times** (启航：当风起时, *Qi Hang: Dang Feng Qi Shi*, also known by the alternative title 我们的时代) is a 2021 Chinese youth and period drama about young entrepreneurs in China's information technology industry in the early 1990s. It was adapted from Wang Qiang's (王强) novel *Our Times* (我们的时代), directed by [Liu Chang](https://www.edgepedia.org/liu-chang) and Ma Yi Ming, and led by [Wu Lei](https://www.edgepedia.org/wu-lei) and Hou Minghao.[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6%E3%80%8B/57201540?fromModule=lemma_inlink) The title should not be confused with a separate 2022 anthology drama of the same English name.[2](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Our_Times)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chinese title | 启航：当风起时 (alternative title 我们的时代); English title Our Times[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6%E3%80%8B/57201540?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Broadcast | Premiered September 14, 2021 on Tencent Video; 36 episodes of 45 minutes each; concluded October 13, 2021[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6%E3%80%8B/57201540?fromModule=lemma_inlink) • [3](https://k.sina.cn/article_1887344341_707e96d5020015l4w.html?from=ent&subch=oent) |
| Source | Adapted from Wang Qiang's novel 我们的时代[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6%E3%80%8B/57201540?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Main cast | Wu Lei as Xiao Chuang, Hou Minghao as Pei Qinghua, Mao Xiaohui as Xie Hang, Xiang Hanzhi as Tan Yuan[4](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/W2pfZWsl) |
| Production | Tencent Penguin Pictures and Xiaotangren (Sugarman Media); chief producers Zhang Na and Zhu Zhenhua; chief screenwriter Zhuoyue Paomo[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6%E3%80%8B/57201540?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Recognition | Named an outstanding online audiovisual work of 2021 in the fourth-quarter selection of China's National Radio and Television Administration[5](https://www.nrta.gov.cn/module/download/downfile.jsp?classid=0&filename=27784b5fc929471c960fc52f4821cbbb.pdf&showname=2021%E5%B9%B4%E7%AC%AC%E5%9B%9B%E5%AD%A3%E5%BA%A6%E4%BC%98%E7%A7%80%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E8%A7%86%E5%90%AC%E4%BD%9C%E5%93%81%E6%8E%A8%E9%80%89%E6%B4%BB%E5%8A%A8%E4%BC%98%E7%A7%80%E4%BD%9C%E5%93%81%E7%9B%AE%E5%BD%95.pdf) |
| Ratings | Douban 7.7/10 from 33,550 raters (as of March 8, 2024); Tencent Video 9.2/10 from about 45,000 raters[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6%E3%80%8B/57201540?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story is set in the early 1990s, when deepening reform and opening up opened a new page for China's information industry. Xiao Chuang (Wu Lei) and Pei Qinghua (Hou Minghao), two young researchers at the computer research institute of Yanjing University, enter the business by secretly making han card expansion boards, the memory add-on boards of the era that let Chinese-language computers handle Chinese text. Chosen by their director Tan Qizhang (Wang Xinjun), they ride the wave of computer sales, starting by reselling foreign computers and moving toward independent research and development, transforming from grassroots beginners into a generation of business figures. The series frames their rise against the rapid development of China at the end of the 20th century.[4](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/W2pfZWsl) • [6](https://news.ifeng.com/c/89eu3phIKR9)
Alongside the two leads, the drama follows Xie Hang (Mao Xiaohui) and Tan Yuan (Xiang Hanzhi), a group of young people chasing their dreams and growing up in the tide of the times.[7](https://www.cpophome.com/our-times-leo-wu-lei-neo-hou-minghao/)
## Production and writing
Chief screenwriter Zhuoyue Paomo (卓越泡沫) said the series was conceived as a portrait of China's information industry after reform and opening up, tracing the arc from the rise of domestically branded PCs in the PC era, through the boom in VCD and DVD products, to the spread of mobile phones and the birth of the internet, with characters such as Pei Qinghua, Xiao Chuang, and Tan Qizhang as representative entrepreneurs of the sector.[8](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15047878) In building the script he consulted extensive materials on the entrepreneurship history of [Zhongguancun](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhongguancun), Beijing's technology hub, and blended real startup stories into the characters. He described the era's pioneers as falling into two temperaments: those who dared to be first, like Xiao Chuang, and those willing to follow but determined to catch up, like Pei Qinghua.[9](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20210922/a9451dc05c7046e9ba767a7a3921bedd/c.html)
The production emphasized period accuracy. The crew consulted large amounts of written, photographic, and film material for a period now nearly three decades past, and drew up a master timeline so that each episode and scene could be dated to a specific month and day; the first scene of episode 31, for example, is set on February 14, 1995, a day when [Valentine's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/valentines-day) and the [Lantern Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/lantern-festival) coincided.[8](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15047878) Filming locations included the historic former First Machine Tool Plant, the Xiaonanhe No. 5 Towel Factory, and sites in Tianjin such as the Quanyechang department store and the Kiessling restaurant.[10](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6/57201540?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)
## Period atmosphere
Reviewers singled out the drama's reconstruction of 1990s life. Sets and props include the Yanjing University computer research institute, video halls plastered with posters for Hong Kong films such as *A Better Tomorrow* and *All the Wrong Friends*, desktop computers that were still rare and expensive, the "da ge da" mobile phone as a status symbol, and televisions that had to be slapped to fix the picture.[11](https://i.ifeng.com/c/89aoCwL9YAY) • [12](https://www.tmtpost.com/5703506.html) Xiao Chuang, a fan of [Chow Yun-fat](https://www.edgepedia.org/chow-yun-fat), affects the look of Mark "Mark Gor" from *A Better Tomorrow*, toothpick and trench coat, and his first bond with Xie Hang comes through a videotape of *An Autumn's Tale*.[11](https://i.ifeng.com/c/89aoCwL9YAY)
Music carries part of the storytelling. Sally Yeh's 1991 hit 《潇洒走一回》 recurs as background music, tied to the era's turn toward commerce, and the cassette of the pop classic 《巴比伦河》 that Tan Yuan asks Pei Qinghua to buy in [Guangzhou](https://www.edgepedia.org/guangzhou) becomes a thread in their romance.[11](https://i.ifeng.com/c/89aoCwL9YAY) • [9](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20210922/a9451dc05c7046e9ba767a7a3921bedd/c.html) Each episode's title sequence presents its theme on the screen of an old black-and-white television, and the pacing is dense: the writers aimed for roughly 30 events per episode, about one every minute or two.[11](https://i.ifeng.com/c/89aoCwL9YAY) • [8](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15047878)
## Reception
The drama ran on [Tencent Video](https://www.edgepedia.org/tencent-video) from September 14 to October 13, 2021.[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6%E3%80%8B/57201540?fromModule=lemma_inlink) • [3](https://k.sina.cn/article_1887344341_707e96d5020015l4w.html?from=ent&subch=oent) Its reception split between praise for craft and modest reach. Sina Entertainment's review at the finale noted that the broadcast results and the reputation did not match, asking how such a carefully made series underperformed.[3](https://k.sina.cn/article_1887344341_707e96d5020015l4w.html?from=ent&subch=oent) A Phoenix Television critique credited the production quality but found the plot's pull limited and the romance scenes formulaic, while reporting a Phoenix Index public score of 8.0 and an expert score of 7.0.[6](https://news.ifeng.com/c/89eu3phIKR9) Douban settled at 7.7 from 33,550 raters as of March 8, 2024, against 9.2 on Tencent Video.[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6%E3%80%8B/57201540?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
Institutional recognition followed. The series was named an outstanding online audiovisual work in the fourth-quarter 2021 selection by the National Radio and Television Administration, with copyright held by Shanghai Tencent Penguin Film and Television Culture Communication Co., Ltd.[5](https://www.nrta.gov.cn/module/download/downfile.jsp?classid=0&filename=27784b5fc929471c960fc52f4821cbbb.pdf&showname=2021%E5%B9%B4%E7%AC%AC%E5%9B%9B%E5%AD%A3%E5%BA%A6%E4%BC%98%E7%A7%80%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E8%A7%86%E5%90%AC%E4%BD%9C%E5%93%81%E6%8E%A8%E9%80%89%E6%B4%BB%E5%8A%A8%E4%BC%98%E7%A7%80%E4%BD%9C%E5%93%81%E7%9B%AE%E5%BD%95.pdf) In Tencent Video's 2021 slate of 31 main-melody (mainstream-theme) dramas, it was one of two exclusive dramas to enter the top ten by broadcast index, alongside *Crime Crackdown*.[13](https://tsg.jlai.edu.cn/__local/6/21/48/113F696E5EFC264BF2FD21BB97C_ED451C8E_595FDA.pdf?e=.pdf)
## References
1. [《启航：当风起时》 – Baidu Baike](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6%E3%80%8B/57201540?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
2. [Our Times – DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Our_Times)
3. [《启航：当风起时》收官 – Sina Entertainment](https://k.sina.cn/article_1887344341_707e96d5020015l4w.html?from=ent&subch=oent)
4. [启航：当风起时剧情介绍 – 电视猫](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/W2pfZWsl)
5. [2021年第四季度优秀网络视听作品推选活动优秀作品目录 – 国家广播电视总局](https://www.nrta.gov.cn/module/download/downfile.jsp?classid=0&filename=27784b5fc929471c960fc52f4821cbbb.pdf&showname=2021%E5%B9%B4%E7%AC%AC%E5%9B%9B%E5%AD%A3%E5%BA%A6%E4%BC%98%E7%A7%80%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E8%A7%86%E5%90%AC%E4%BD%9C%E5%93%81%E6%8E%A8%E9%80%89%E6%B4%BB%E5%8A%A8%E4%BC%98%E7%A7%80%E4%BD%9C%E5%93%81%E7%9B%AE%E5%BD%95.pdf)
6. [凤凰网《Feng向标》｜《启航：当风起时》 – 凤凰网](https://news.ifeng.com/c/89eu3phIKR9)
7. [Our Times – CPOP HOME](https://www.cpophome.com/our-times-leo-wu-lei-neo-hou-minghao/)
8. [《启航：当风起时》：怎样制造专属1990年代的氛围感 – 澎湃新闻](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15047878)
9. [跟着《启航：当风起时》回到上世纪90年代 – 新华网](https://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20210922/a9451dc05c7046e9ba767a7a3921bedd/c.html)
10. [《启航：当风起时》 – Baidu Baike (mobile)](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%90%AF%E8%88%AA%EF%BC%9A%E5%BD%93%E9%A3%8E%E8%B5%B7%E6%97%B6/57201540?fromModule=tashuo-article_bottom-lemma)
11. [《启航：当风起时》观察：个体与时代交相辉映 – 凤凰网](https://i.ifeng.com/c/89aoCwL9YAY)
12. [《启航：当风起时》："氛围感好剧"的破圈难题？ – 钛媒体](https://www.tmtpost.com/5703506.html)
13. [2021年第6期（总第39期） – 吉林动画学院图书馆](https://tsg.jlai.edu.cn/__local/6/21/48/113F696E5EFC264BF2FD21BB97C_ED451C8E_595FDA.pdf?e=.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Chinese modern and contemporary drama*
*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