Sparkly makeup, fashionable clothes, perfectly unified dance steps and catchy rhythms… for many, this is the first impression of "idol groups". Usually, members of these groups are in their teens and twenties.

However, a hit Chinese variety show is determined to make some changes to the norm. Mango TV, owned by Hunan TV Station, has recently promoted a reality show gathering 30 Chinese female stars aged from 30 to 52, who are competing for the membership of a girl group.

The show is named "Sisters Who Makes the Waves" ("Cheng Feng Po Lang de Jie Jie" in Chinese), and has distinguished itself from other talent shows that aim to select new girls groups, such as "Youth with You" and "Produce Camp 2020" produced by iQiyi and Tencent Video respectively.

Within its first day of release last week, the show had garnered 250 million views, far more than the other variety shows that are on air. On Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, its hashtag had been used over 16.5 billion times.

No doubt, the show has successfully faced fierce competition from various variety shows. But why?

Diverse beauty standards

The domestic entertainment sector in China has been criticized for the shallow and one-dimensional aestheticism in recent years. Especially for female stars, standards of beauty are often limited to how young their appearances are and how slim they are. Both insiders and audiences are calling for a change.

Among the 30 celebrities, there are award-winning actresses, singers, models … all with accomplishments in their own careers. But while appearing on the television to sing and dance, as well as presenting their true personalities, the public were charmed by their diversified styles and talents.

"I've been watching the show lately, and it presents me how women above 30 should be like – to be yourself," a Weibo user wrote about the show. "We become more leisurely, and we know better how to enjoy life, but at the same time we still can strive for our dreams."

"Being the captain of our own life" is also what the show is trying to stress in its values. Just like what is expressed in the lyrics of the show's theme song: "A woman has to brave so many storms to grow up, and being herself is not just a slogan… I'll create my own life and my own dream, because I'm my own Ms. Priceless."

Off stage: the dilemma of the middle-aged female stars

Even the show has inspired the public to admire women aged above 30, back in reality, many actresses have been complaining about lack of quality television series or films in which they can display their talents.

According to The Paper and DTCJ, a data-based news outlet, in 2019, about 20 percent of Chinese actors have only one TV series aired, and 65 percent have no opportunity to make even an appearance in aired TV series. Middle-aged actresses have suffered worse than their male peers.

"I feel sorry for the situation of many middle-aged actresses. They have great, rich life experiences and great expressions, and yet the market gives them far less opportunities than they deserve," said Yong Mei in an interview after receiving a Silver Bear award at the 69th Berlinale for her role as the heroine in film "So Long, My Son."

Data shows that only 28.5 percent of the Chinese actresses aged between 40 to 50 have productions aired or debuted in theaters in 2019. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 in 2020, the situation could become even worse.

The show, "Sisters Who Make Waves" could be an opportunity to draw public attention to the female stars again, but it still has limited influence.

It is not only up to the sisters themselves, but also the market and society to determine how long they can sail for after the show is over.

(Video contributed by Wang Siwen)