I haven’t had time to watch Footprints of Change yet because I’ve been quite busy, but Tong Yao’s part of the story proper started airing last night for VIP members from Episode 11 onwards. What some people may not realise is that she actually appeared way back in Episode 1, about five minutes in.
The production deliberately avoided showing her in close-ups then — we only got long shots and over-the-shoulder angles. Her character Yi Yi is also the narrator of the whole story, which explains her early presence. I’m not sure if Tong Yao appears again before Episode 11, since I haven’t had the chance to follow the earlier episodes closely. Although Yi Yi isn't the primary focus of the first arc, that section still lays the groundwork, covering her youth and how she met her husband.
With Yi Yi’s story now underway, Tong Yao Studio’s official Weibo released a behind-the-scenes video showing how they aged her for the role. Fans familiar with the project probably recognised her in Episode 1, but for those who didn’t, the video makes it clear — and the transformation is impressive. They used prosthetics and layered makeup to create the effect, and the result is very convincing. The elderly Yi Yi looks genuinely frail in the images they shared.
Although I haven’t started watching the series yet, I’m glad Tong Yao wasn’t heavily featured in the first story. I have already watched her in The Rebel, which focused on the resistance to the Japanese invasion, so it’s refreshing to see her in a different historical moment here. Yi Yi’s arc is set in the 1950s, after the Communist Party’s victory in 1949. Her husband is a KMT soldier, which places her in a precarious position. The trailers and promotional clips already revealed that her husband dies, leaving Yi Yi to navigate a hostile environment where she faces social ostracism and repeated accusations. It’s only when she encounters senior cadre Wen Pu, who shows sympathy for her plight, that her circumstances begin to change.
From what I've been able to watch so far, the drama series seems quite interesting and well paced. Production values look good too. I'm personally looking forward to seeing how Yi Yi’s personal struggles mirror the larger changes happening in China during the 1950s. Tong Yao has a way of making her characters feel layered and real, so I’m eager to see how she carries this arc as the story unfolds. Moreover, she's paired with another veteran actor, Liu Yijun, and from the promo clips, the two have a gentle and subtle chemistry.
If you're curious about the rest of Tong Yao’s work, I'm creating a complete guide to her filmography. It's my passion project filled with my personal reviews, character deep-dives, and links to detailed posts like this one and more. It’s a work in progress, but I invite you to take a look: Tong Yao Film & TV Guide for Fans.
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