In his 4th century fable The Peach Blossom Spring (《桃花源记》), Tao Yuanming (陶渊明) details a magical and secluded garden full of bountiful peach trees, babbling streams, and stunning mountains—a utopia on earth where “all the old and young are happy and contented.” Now, the ongoing TV show 50km Taohuawu (《桃花源记》), which references Tao’s peach blossom grove in its title, is attempting to create a modern version of that utopia. Except this ‘garden’ is filled with 15 celebrities and has been built in just 21 days for the public's viewing pleasure. Far from idyllic harmony, the show nurtures intergenerational conflict in the name of practical community management.

50km Taohuawu debuted May 23 on the video-streaming platform Tencent Video, and follows celebrities thrown together into three neighboring houses in Taohuawu (or “Peach Grove”) village in Pinggu district, a remote settlement about 50 kilometers outside downtown Beijing. The celebs, who are mostly strangers to each other of different ages, genders, and personalities, are largely left to their own devices, the show's only guidance being to build an “ideal community.” Despite good initial viewing figures the reviews are mixed, with the show currently rated 6.1 out of 10 on reviewing platform Douban.

The show's director Chi Yuan told Sansheng, an entertainment news platform, that 50km Taohuawu is a “social observation experiment,” investigating how groups of people become familiar with each other and forge connections in everyday life when removed from the hustle and bustle of the city. Exactly why these privileged celebrities should be chosen to create the ideal society is unclear (beyond bolstering viewing figures), and what the show actually hopes them to achieve is even less so. But drawing this group of big personalities from different generations together leads to awkward interactions, funny misunderstandings, and strained tensions, which is all entertaining to a point.