Based on the novel of the same name by Chen Yan, Zhuang Tai (Stagehands) depicts the lives of a group of stagehands in a regional Shaanxi Opera theatre, as they struggle to make a better living in the city of Xi'an, together with the life and death, bitter and sweet, tears and laughters, happening to them and the people around them. Amongst whom the male lead Zhang Jiayi as Diao Shunzi, a seasoned middle aged stagehand, stubbornly and optimistically maneuvering the dramas and hurdles in his family life, personal finances, and love life.—nightimerunner