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Cheng Lei and Tong Yao’s ‘Footprints of Change’ gets character posters and premiere date this week

Michelle Topham September 5, 2025

Cheng Lei in Zu Ji character visual

Chinese generational drama Footprints of Change (aka Zu Ji) got a set of character visuals today along with its premiere date — September 4th.

That’s one cool thing about Chinese dramas, right? By the time a premiere is announced, you only have a few days to wait.

Of course, Footprints of Change is yet another drama starring Cheng Lei.

The third this year so far, as it follows on from the recently ended Legend of the Female General and the ongoing Shadow Love.

Tong Yao in Zu Ji character visual

In other words, if you are a Cheng Lei fan, it is looking like 2025 is your year.

If you’re not, then suck it up, eh? Because at least the dramas he has been starring in this year have been decent, and Footprints of Change looks like it might fit the same mold.

The Footprints of Change premiere date was announced via iQIYI and Tencent Video’s Weibo accounts as, this time, it’s a joint production and will stream on one or other of the platforms.

That’s, of course, depending on the specific region you live in.

Liu Yi Jun in Zu Ji character visual

The Footprints of Change character visuals also came with the usual type of messages, with Tencent for instance commenting about the plot and confirming its main cast:

#Footprints of Change Announces Release Date#

Beneath the old window lattices lie laughter and tears; the Huangpu River’s wind carries dreams and courage. Life’s journey is long, with unpredictable storms, yet they always stand side by side, turning hardships into dawn.

Footprints of Change Premieres September 4 exclusively on Tencent Video. Stay tuned!

Starring: Yi Yi (played by Tong Yao), Cheng Ao (Cheng Lei), Wen Pu (Liu Yi Jun), Lin Si Yun (Lin Yun), Xiang Bei Chuan (Yang Le), Ye Xi Ning (Wang He Run), Zeng Pei De (Ning Li), Xu Nan (Wang Yuan Ke) Zhao Han Gong (Hou Yan Song).

Footprints of Change is directed by Zhang Silin (My Bargain Queen), and written by Wang Wan Ping (Married).

The drama follows the lives of three generations of women starting off in the 1930s during China’s Republican era, and ending in the 1990s during the wave of reform.

RELATED: Cheng Lei’s How Dare You? has a cute new visual referencing the C-drama’s iconic conversation

Jelly Lin in Zu Ji character visual

All three women live in the same old bungalow during different parts of the 20th century, and go through various personal trials due to various events in Chinese history.

Update: September 19th — Footprints of Change has now ended its run, and seems to have been very well received by Chinese audiences, as it now has a starting 7.1 rating on Douban, an excellent and very reputable score for a drama of this genre.

Zu Ji character visual Yang Le

Rain Wang in Zu Ji character visual

Zu Ji character visual 2 Ning Li

Zu Ji character visual Wang Yuan Ke

Zu Ji character visual Hou Yan Song

About the Author

Michelle Topham

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British-American journalist obsessed with C-dramas, a subject I have been writing about for more than two decades. How many C-dramas have I watched? Many many hundreds. How many are still in my backlog? Hundreds more.

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Next: Footprints of Change exceeds 20,000 on heat index – 3 celebratory posters drop for all 3 couples

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A blog dedicated to Chinese dramas founded by Michelle Topham -- a British-American journalist who spent almost two decades living in Asia, and wrote about Chinese series for most of that time. That's me!

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